This is Your Brain on Stories
By Penina Beede
When we hear a story, our brains are charged with a variety of hormones that respond to the intrigue and humor of life’s unique experiences. When our brains enter this “story mode,” we are transported to an ancestral plane, a place where humans have traveled for thousands of years without moving a muscle. Ancient neurons fire as our brains are filled with cortisol, dopamine and oxytocin.
When in story mode, researcher and science communicator Liz Neeley says “our brains are active in patterns that are forecasting the future. They’re trying to guess what’s happening next.”
My father loves this. From the time I was a child, we would compete to guess how a movie was going to end based on the hints the filmmakers left for us on the screen.
“She’s going to kill him and take the money for herself,” he would say casually as he stretched back in his armchair. I watched in awe as his prophecy came to fruition nearly every time.
He called himself The Genre Master, and I was his apprentice.
You would think knowing the end of a story would make it less interesting for him. But no, my father firmly believes that if knowing the outcome ruins the story, then it probably wasn’t a very good story to begin with.
He’s right. Our story mode brain doesn’t really care about what the ending is unless there’s a stellar beginning and middle to a story. If we are truly engaged throughout the story, our brains react as if we are actually in the scenario.
According to entrepreneur and storyteller Leo Widrich, “Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too.” This process is known as neural coupling.
In a study conducted by researchers at Princeton University, neural coupling creates empathy and understanding between humans.
“When the woman spoke English, the volunteers understood her story, and their brains synchronized. When she had activity in her insula, an emotional brain region, the listeners did too. When her frontal cortex lit up, so did theirs. By simply telling a story, the woman could plant ideas, thoughts and emotions into the listeners’ brains.”
Stories bring people together. Our brains are wired to rely on stories and create community. Despite my father, though, I suggest you let people finish their stories without guessing the ending.