British neuroscientists have recently found the reason most people can predict words and sentences as they are being scanned by the eye. Rather than reading every word and sentence to the end before coming up with its meaning, new research has shown the brain makes an educated guess and then moves on.
As we become more literate, the brain becomes better at predicting sentences and therefore quicker at reading.
Researchers have shown that the angular gyrus’ role, rather than acting as a dictionary as previously thought, acts in anticipating what our eye will see – like the predictive texting function on a mobile phone.
The research, published in the journal ‘Nature’ was based on a unique study into former guerrilla fighters in Colombia. The team scanned the brains of illiterate adult rebels, who had had no education, before and after they had undertaken a five year reading and writing course. The new readers had a higher density of so-called grey matter, where information processing is carried out, in several areas of the left hemisphere of the brain.
It is hoped that the research could unlock understanding into the causes of dyslexia.
Google news article here.