LITERARY NEUROSCIENCE: PATTERNS OF ATTENTION

AND MEMORY IN READING JANE AUSTEN

Phillips, N. M., Grasser, L. R., and Smith, S.
Background
Cognition Lab, Michigan State University
The emerging field of literary neuroscience aims to
capture how linguistic and literary stimuli are
processed in the brain. Our unprecedented study
investigates natural reading; previous fMRI
studies of reading have only presented subjects
with either a single word or simple clause at a time
(Speer 2009, Boulenger 2009). Our study
advances a nuanced understanding of natural
reading by using complex literature as a stimulus
(a chapter of Jane Austens Mansfield Park),
observing two methods of reading: close
(analytical) reading and pleasure reading. Early
analysis of behavioral results (essays written by
subjects upon finishing the task and exiting the
scanner) have revealed patterns of attention that
may relate to formal literary element of the text,
including usage of modified nouns and action
verbs, concreteness or abstractness of language at
large, and even emotional valence. Such results
may point to behavioral trends in learning and
memory.

Digital Humanities and Literary

Early Results and Findings
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Quoting Frequency Across Sections of Mansfield Park

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Figure 2. This graph visualizes trends in frequency for quoting across the chapter. The segments of the
stimulus chapter (broken into 32 sections) are represented along the x-axis, while the total number of
references made by the participants in their post-scan essays are represented on the y-axis. Tellingly,
subjects quote almost exclusively from close reading segments.
Number of Objects Present in Sections of Mansfield Park
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Figure 1. A visual representation of our task. The text, Austen's

Mansfield Park was divided into 32 sections, each presented on a
single slide. Participants moved sequentially through the slides at
their own pace. The experiment followed a two-condition, subjectbased block-design paradigm. The colored border around the text
indicated the reading condition: close reading (red) or pleasure
reading (green).

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Figure 3. This graph, again, represents the 32 sections of the chapter along the x-axis. The y-axis
represents the total number of references to physical objects in Austens text, within each section. Both
the infrequent mentions of objects in Austens text as well as a closer investigation into section 8, which
appeared to be one of the most widespread and heavily quoted sections (Figure 2), inspired our ongoing
study of concreteness.

Materials and
Ratio of Concrete Nouns & Verbs to Total Nouns & Verbs Per Chunk
Methods
Participants were Ph.D. candidates trained in
literature (n=18). They were instructed to read for
pleasure or close read, and informed that they were
to write a brief literary essay on sections designated
for close reading after leaving the scanner.
Participants also completed a post-scan survey on
their reading practices, previous exposure to the
text, and engagement with the narrative. BOLD
imaging (e.g. blood flow) was gathered using a 3T
MRI scanner (2.9mm, 42 slices). fMRI data was
processed and imaged using standard data
processing tools, FSL and Freeview. Post-scan essays
were analyzed for recurring themes, literary devices,
and references to the narrative, focusing on patterns Figure 4. To determine the relative concreteness of each section of Mansfield Park, we used each part of
global average in the Brysbaert 1-5 scale to determine a threshold (High>3.53 for nouns, 2.92
of quoting. Based on these patterns, we have begun speechs
for verbs) for what is concrete. This graph displays the ratio of total verbs and nouns to the number of
to analyze the narrative building on two hypotheses concrete verbs and concrete nouns.
regarding what influenced literary Ph.Ds attention
to
(and memory
the text:
relative
concreteness
Acknowledgments:
Natalieof)
M. Phillips,
Department
of English;
Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab, Michigan State University
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Although subjects could not refer back to the narrative

during their post-scan essays, they nevertheless quoted
directly and accurately from the text. Preliminary data
suggests that quoting frequency (Figure 2) may be
influenced by references to objects in the narrative
(Figure 3), or instances of negative affective language.
Our concreteness scalings are derived from a behavioral
study of over 4,000 subjects by Brysbaert in 2013
ranking the concreteness of 40,000 words on a scale of
1-5, with 1 being abstract (essentialness) and 5 being
Future Directions
concrete (sled).
Ongoing analysis at the DHLC will examine individual
variations between close and pleasure reading and how
different styles of reading effect attention and memory.
We are currently analyzing eye-tracking data from the
scans to test whether neural activation can be correlated
with specific narrative moments in natural reading. We
are also working to incorporate dynamic physiological
data, including heart rate and respiration, with patterns
of attention in reading. Ongoing correlations of our fMRI
data and post-scan essays will seek to evaluate how
patterns of concrete vs. abstract words and positive vs.
negative affective language impact neural signatures as
well as what participants ultimately decided to quote.
Examining textual factors influencing memory and
attention via analysis of participants quoting patterns,
we hope, will enable us to predict whether or not
someone will quote from a section of the narrative later
based on specific patterns of activation in areas
associated with attention and formation of memory. The
integration of this diverse behavioral data with our fMRI
results will allow us to explore the neural complexity of
learning to bring different modes of attention to reading,
revealing the intricacy of core skills taught in the
humanities.