Building Baby’s Brain with Books

Association for Library Service to Children ‘Nati National Institute

Dr. John S. Hutton, (MS)2 MD,Founder, blue manatee press

Director, CCHMCReading and Literacy Discovery Center

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Backyard Brain Building

Some childrenare fortunate…

Books From BirthAAP Literacy Recommendations

• Begin daily shared reading beginning as soon as possible after birth, which…

“…stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child

relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds

language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.”

TV for Toddlers?AAP Screen Time Recommendations

• Avoid before 18-24 months old

• Discourage TV/screens in sleeping areas

“Because of their immature symbolic, memory, and attentional skills, infants and toddlers

cannot learn from traditional digital media as they do from interactions with caregivers…”

Such as READING TOGETHER!

Reading! Our favorite higher-order skill

• Cultural invention• 6000 years old

• No hardwired brain network

• “Recycle” visual, language, and other brain networks emergent literacy

• Predictable sequence in typically developing readers• Note: books with pictures no pictures

“Neurons that fire together, wire together”

• Early: Vision, hearing, joint attention

• Protracted: higher-order cognitive skillsLanguage, executive function, creativity, sense of self & others (empathy)

Visual imagery: comprehension, learning, mental health

Not a Raisin:The Reading Network

Source: “Reading the Brain,” Stanislas Dehaene, 2010.

So, how can readingchange the raisin brain?

Home Literacy Environment Shared Reading

Quantitative Qualitative

Access to books

Engagement(Dialogic)

InterestReading Frequency

Format

Study 1: Quantitative HLE and Brain Activation During Story Listening in 3-5 y/o Children

•Semantic Processing (Understanding)•Visual Imagery

Semantic network

Left Hemisphere

1. Adapted from Dehaene, “Reading the Brain,” 2010.2. Hutton, et al. Pediatrics, 2015.

Study 2: Shared Reading Quality and Brain Activation During Story Listening in 4 y/o children

•Expressive language•Complex language processing•Social-emotional integration•Working memory/attention

Left Hemisphere

1. Adapted from Dehaene, “Reading the Brain,” 2010.2. Hutton, et al. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2017; presented at PAS 2016.

What About the Child?

Study 3: Child Engagement During Shared Reading and Brain Activation During Story Listening in 4 y/o

TURBOCHARGER for learning?•CerebELLAR association cortex•Map to L cerebral language/association•Highly active in language and reading

Right Cerebellum

Hutton, et al. PLOSOne, 2017.

What About Educational Videos?

AudioAudio +

Illustrations Animation

time

~5 minutes

Pause Pause

~5 minutes ~5 minutes

Studies 4 & 5: Influence of Story Format on Brain Network Connectivity in 3-5 year-olds

“Goldilocks Effect”

Too cold! Just right… Too hot!

“Goldilocks Effect”Differences in Functional Brain Network Connectivity (FC) Between Story Formats

Illustration> Audio Animation > Illustration

“Too Hot” Global decrease in network FC

Focal visual perception Less efficient scaffolding Blunt imagery & sense of self Less “boost” for learning

“Just Right” Reduced strain on

language network Scaffolding by pictures

+ imagery Sense of self Cerebellar “boost”

“see”

“boost”

“self”

“imagine” “comprehend”

“JUST RIGHT” SCAFFOLDING WITH PICTURE BOOKSNETWORK INTEGRATION FOR ILLUSTRATION > AUDIO

Pictures + imagery

Decreased strain on language network• Cross-hemispheric connections

“Turbocharger”

ImagerySense of self

Hutton, et al. Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, 2018; In Revision.

WHITHER, IMAGERY?DECREASED CONNECTIVITY FOR ANIMATION > ILLUSTRATION

Between Visual Imagery & Language Networks

Between Visual Perception and Default Mode Network

• -49% FCLess Imagery

• -37% FCBlunted imagery +

“Sense of self”

Hutton, et al. Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, 2018; In Revision.

ATTENTION!DECREASED CONNECTIVITY

FOR ANIMATION > ILLUSTRATION

Between Dorsal Attention (“top-down” focus) & Language

Between Ventral Attention (“bottom-up” reorienting ) & Visual Imagery

• -49% FCLess focus on

semantics/language

• -47% FCLess reorienting to

imagery

Hutton, et al. 2018; Under Review.

Books & Behaviors:Reading Shapes Brains!

Home Literacy Environment Shared Reading

Quantitative Qualitative

Access to books

Engagement(Dialogic)

InterestReading Frequency

Source: Hutton, et al.

Format

Story Time!

1. Read Early and Often!

2. Establish a routine starting in infancy (SHARE/STEP)

3. Dialogic Reading!

Coming soon!

4. Screen-free Until Three!

5. Fiona!

Thank You!

“Questions?”

Contact:• JohnSandy@bluemanateebooks.com• John1.Hutton@cchmc.org• https://rldc.cchmc.org/