After learning new words, brain sees them as pictures

Washington: When we look at a known word, our brain sees it like a picture, not a group of letters needing to be processed, reveals a new research. The study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, shows the brain learns words quickly by tuning neurons to respond to a complete word, not parts of it.

Neurons respond differently to real words, such as turf, than to nonsense words such as turt, showing that a small area of the brain is "holistically tuned" to recognise complete words, according to researchers. The findings not only help reveal how the brain processes words but also provides insights into how to help people with reading disabilities.