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The brain is an organ of the human being that evolves, changes and adapts throughout life. If in the early years it has been compared to a sponge for the ability to assimilate data, knowledge and routines, adult life should not be set aside as a period in which it can progress. In fact, the expert in neuroscience and literature Angus Fletcher, maintains that reading is an instrument that helps improve health in many different ways, as science and psychology have proven.
“From my training in neuroscience and with the studies that I have done, I can see how the creations of literature connect with different regions of our brain to make us less lonely, help us build up our courage, or do a variety of different things to help us“, says the professor at the University of Ohio (United States).
The example Angus Fletcher insists most on is ‘The Godfather’ from Mario Puzo. According to the expert, the emotional experience, the way it is told and the plot of this novel drive the reader to overcome the feeling of loneliness. “It creates a tension that is only partially resolved at the end, providing us with a dopamine portion that ties us to the characters and the story and makes us feel like friends,” says Angus Flecther.
Reading heals the brain
The basis of the reading as a brain healer it is in the recognition that people make of the plots, characters and situations. “Stories are actually a form of technology. There are tools that were designed by our ancestors to alleviate depression, reduce anxiety, foster creativity, fuel anger, and meet a variety of different psychological challenges for the human being. We can still find and use those emotional tools in the stories we read today, “sums up the neuroscientist.
A fundamental element is the characters as a factor of personal enrichment. “The human brain has evolved to be fascinated by other people“, says Fletcher. From there, according to the scientist and professor, the book has an” extraordinary power to heal your brain, give more joy, more courage, whatever you need in your life. “
The possibilities are endless like the options that literature for unlock in mind. Each book offers a different experience and, therefore, “it is a different tool”, but the key is that the reader identifies important processes for the human being when reading a novel.
In addition, age is not an obstacle to the evolution of the brain. The perception may be that young people learn more than adults, but it is a matter of progression from low to deep knowledge. In fact, the capacity is never lost. “Due to my work in various psychology laboratories and in hospitals, I know a ton of evidence that we learn every day“says Fletcher.
Man as a social being thanks to literature
Another example offered by the expert in the field of books and neuroscience it is that of the help of books so that man maintains his capacity as a social being. This theory has a scientific basis. According to neuroscientists, the dorsal raphe nucleus is a part of the brain that helps make friends with serotonin as a key factor in addition to its role in the sleep cycle and in the relaxation of the body. Fletcher explains this body has a group of neurons prepared to function during brief periods of solitude and help to be sociable when we meet people again.
The problem during long periods of isolation such as during confinement during the coronavirus pandemic or for other circumstances is that the brain ends up overcoming this phase and the ease of connecting with other people disappears. It is there when the books become protagonists. “What ‘The Godfather’ and other stories can do is awaken the dorsal nucleus of the raphe and facilitate reincorporation into society when the pandemic ends“, says the expert to illustrate with an example how one of the examples that reading helps the mental health of the brain.
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Finally, the neuroscientist and professor of Literature recalls that the stories in books are intimately linked to the needs of the human being. Thus it is understood that it is a tool that helps the brain to be healthier, happier, more blissful since the problems of stress, depression, anxiety or sleep are reduced.
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