Do you know the real science behind reading to children? The study done by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have proved that Home reading environment helps in benefiting the brain development of children. The research was presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.

The researches have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to prove “reading exposure before going to school has a significant impact on how a stories are processed by the brain of a child”. They examined 19 children between the ages 3 and 5 years old. The parents of these children were questioned about the parent-child reading, access to books, reading frequency and book variety, parent-child interaction, and teaching of specific skills like counting or shapes.

The brain activity of the children while listening to a story on headphones was measured during an fMRI. But the researchers didn’t consider the visual stimulus.

"Areas of strongest correlation with home reading environment were exclusively in the left hemisphere, known to support language. Specifically, in a posterior region referred to as the parietal-temporal-occipital (PTO) multi-modal association cortex," Dr. John Hutton, study author and pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center said to media.
Dr Hutton said that "Home reading environment was positively associated with greater activation of brain areas known to support mental imagery. To understand the story, the children are required to use their imaginations to "see" what is happening, for comprehension."

After measuring the cognitive stimulation of children at home, the experts suggest reading at home to boost their brain development.

By Lizitha