What changes the brain? Could reading to your child help brain development?

Well, a study published in the journal Brain Connectivity, looked at brain activity with functional MRI scans for 19 consecutive days, in adults who read a novel in the first 10 days of the study.

The brain areas affected during and after finishing the book were compared.

Results showed that certain areas of the brain that were activated while reading the book, continued to be active for at least several days later, as if the information absorbed had an impact on brain functioning!

The activated areas were in the part of the brain that controls the sense of touch, called the somatosensory area.

Researchers are looking into how the brain uses language to tie in with other body experiences, like touch.

This seems to be possibly one way we remember things.  This is a theory called “embodied semantics”.

So, what does all this “gobble-de-gook” have to do with your child’s learning?

Well, we don’t know yet, but if busy adults who only spend a short time reading at night and have it affect brain memory, how much more important is it for you to be sure your child has good, quality “stuff” going into that brain all day long?

Since the brain seems to be making sense of the world and then remembering things through the sensory system, it would make “sense”… so to speak… to start when Baby is little with singing, talking, laughing and caressing, and thus sharing life often through the day.

As the child grows, continue that strong interaction and make opportunities available, like books and good learning choices, for great brain development.

And… it all starts with a hug… Gene.