Reading Changes Your Brain

Reading is a big deal, but evolutionarily speaking, language and reading are new functions for the brain. Bustle has revealed some new studies that show just how much the brain changes when you learn to read, or keep up that love of reading.

One study worked with illiterate adults as they learned to read and discovered that this activated parts of their brain that were previously not thought to be connected to this kind of learning. Before, it was thought that these kinds of changes occurred in the cerebral cortex, but activity was found deeper, in the thalamus and the brainstem.

More studies are coming out to help us learn about dyslexia, and they are showing people that the brain is much more adaptable than was previously thought. These findings could do amazing things for those around the world who are illiterate.

So if you don't normally like to read, consider picking up a book instead of the remote one evening, and see how good your brain feels afterward. You'll be making connections!

(via Bustle)