Is badfiction processed differently by the human brain? An electrophysical study on reading experience

In this study, we investigate how differences in literary quality resonate in the human brain. Modifying a series of stimuli previously used in studies of the emotional potential of Harry Potter, we alternate passages from the original novels with passages from imitative and intentionally poorly written fanfiction. EEG data shows how the three text types are processed differently by the brain. Comparing the brain activity of the readers for the various text types, we see a difference in the absolute power but not in the relative power of the frequency bands. Reading badfiction evokes the lowest activity. However, the functionality of this activity is the same for all texts since the relative power of the frequency bands does not differ. When comparing the participant groups, we observe the opposite situation. Here, different relative powers of the frequency bands reflect different judgments and reading habits of participants. For example, fans of Harry Potter, regular readers of fantasy texts, and generally frequent readers read the texts more attentively, which is reflected in a pronounced relative activity of the theta and alpha frequency bands. Non-frequent readers and readers who are not devoted to Harry Potter and fantasy in general have increased activity in the delta frequency band. This suggests their saliency detection is more prominent because they are less familiar with reading or the subject matter. To support our findings, we use the EEG data without averaging ov...
Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research