What Happens in Your Brain When You Read? New Study Maps the Reading Mind

New research reveals how silent and aloud reading activate distinct brain regions, deepening our understanding of how we comprehend text.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 7 May 2025 22:22 IST

Highlights

Brain responds differently to silent vs. aloud reading, engaging unique
Reading even a single letter sparks neural activity in the left hemisph
Insights may help shape future treatments for reading difficulties

What Happens in Your Brain When You Read? New Study Maps the Reading Mind

Brain scans reveal the complex neural network activated by silent and aloud reading.

Photo Credit: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (2025)

Scientists concluded in a recent research published in April 2025 in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews provides an in-depth look into how our brain understands the written language. The study has been conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. The findings of this research have been derived from 163 neuroimaging studies to understand the neural mechanisms behind reading in depth. This comprehensive analysis has shown how different areas of the brain work in synchronisation, mainly the left-hemispheric regions and the cerebellum, to process different written content.

How the Brain Handles Letters to Full Texts

Sabrina Turker, Philip Kuhnke, Gesa Hartwigsen and Beatrice Fumagalli, the researchers involved in the study, found that specific brain areas get activated based on the type of reading. Researchers found that the left occipital cortex's single cluster was activated after reading letters, whereas words, sentences and paragraphs activated the left hemisphere. While reading pseudo words, unique areas were involved, which has shown the inability of the brain to find the difference between the language that is known and the unknown.

Silent vs. Aloud Reading: What's the Difference?

A major discovery in this research is the difference between overt (aloud reading) and covert (silent reading) brain activity. Aloud reading triggers the regions linked to sound and movement, whereas silent reading involves more complex multiple-demand areas. According to the researchers, silent reading needs more mental resources than aloud reading.

Scientists Detect Rising Microplastics in Human Brains, Study Raises Concerns

Explicit vs. Implicit Reading Tasks

The study also revealed the exploration of how the brain responds to explicit reading, i.e. Silent word reading and lexical decision tasks. The former one involves stronger activation in the regions, just like the cerebellar cortices and left orbitofrontal, whereas the implicit reading activated both sides of the inferior frontal, together with insular regions.

Why This Matters

The insights from the study can help support individuals suffering from reading challenges. After knowing how silent reading reacts differently to the brain, educators and doctors can better customise the medical practices for treating disorders such as dyslexia.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: reading brain activity, brain science and literacy, silent reading neuroscience, how we read, cognitive reading study, reading comprehension brain