Book contents
- The Perks of Being a Bookworm
- The Perks of Being a Bookworm
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Part IFoundations
- Part IIReading-Driven General Cognitive Enhancement
- Part IIIReading-Driven Enhanced Vision
- Chapter 5Visual Discrimination
- Chapter 6Visual Recognition
- Chapter 7Visual Attention
- Part IVReading-Driven Enhanced Memory
- Part VReading-Driven Enhanced Spoken Language
- Part VIReading-Driven Enhanced Reasoning
- Part VIIConclusion and Outlook
- References
- Index
- References
Chapter 6 - Visual Recognition
Literacy Enhances Recognition of Faces
from Part III - Reading-Driven Enhanced Vision
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 April 2026
Book contents
- The Perks of Being a Bookworm
- The Perks of Being a Bookworm
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Part IFoundations
- Part IIReading-Driven General Cognitive Enhancement
- Part IIIReading-Driven Enhanced Vision
- Chapter 5Visual Discrimination
- Chapter 6Visual Recognition
- Chapter 7Visual Attention
- Part IVReading-Driven Enhanced Memory
- Part VReading-Driven Enhanced Spoken Language
- Part VIReading-Driven Enhanced Reasoning
- Part VIIConclusion and Outlook
- References
- Index
- References
Summary
The destructive competition hypothesis views the brain as a system with finite processing resources, where new cognitive functions compete with evolutionary older ones for cortical space. In contrast, our combined neuroimaging and behavioral evidence points to a different conclusion: The human brain has the remarkable capacity to accommodate new cultural skills, such as reading, while simultaneously enhancing related preexisting abilities, such as face recognition. Rather than impairing older functions, reading acquisition appears to support and refine them.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Perks of Being a BookwormThe Science of the Benefits of Reading, pp. 85 - 98Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Further Reading
Dehaene, S., & Cohen, L. (2007). Cultural recycling of cortical maps. Neuron, 56(2), 384–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hervais-Adelman, A., Kumar, U., Mishra, R. K., Tripathi, V. N., Guleria, A., Singh, J. P., … & Huettig, F. (2019). Learning to read recycles visual cortical networks without destruction. Science Advances, 5(9), eaax0262.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Paridon, J., Ostarek, M., Arunkumar, M., & Huettig, F. (2021). Does neuronal recycling result in destructive competition? The influence of learning to read on the recognition of faces. Psychological Science, 32(3), 459–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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