Opinion | Your Brain on Fiction (Published 2012)
Our brains grow by being able to enter into other minds and imagine ourselves as other people. ...literature gives you direct access, it literally allows you to leap into the mind of Jane Austen or Homer or Maya Angelou etc., and just go.
Sally Mallam • The Science of Storytelling
According to neuroscience studies, stories have a remarkable ability to change our thinking, for example by demonstrating how our minds literally sync with each other as we hear a story.
Nathan Furr • The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown
When a story meets our brain’s criteria, we relax and slip into the protagonist’s skin, eager to experience what his or her struggle feels like, without having to leave the comfort of home.