Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nXAsJvs5q4k   You’ll absorb just as much information from listening to a book as reading it.  This is the conclusion from a UC-Berkeley in which researchers used MRI scans of participants to create so-called 3D semantic maps that represented the brain’s processing of word-based information.   When the captured data was decoded, the investigators were surprised to find that the semantic maps of those listening to stories were almost identical to the maps generated by the brains of those reading the same story.  Those of you who love audio books and podcasts will now have some scientific evidence to back up your intuition.   Semantic mapping techniques will soon be used to study those with dyslexia and auditory processing impairment.  Hopefully the data will lead to more effective therapy for these problems as well as for victims of stroke, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.   Ana F. Palenciano, Carlos González-García, Juan E. Arco, Luiz Pessoa and María Ruz.  Representational orga