# Maryanne Wolf, neuroscientist: ‘Because of screens, we have learned another way of reading that short-circuits the brain’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/maryanne-wolf-neuroscientist-because-of-screens-we-have-learned-another-way-of-reading-that-short-circuits-the-brain/
- Published: 2026-11-14T04:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-14T05:22:42+00:00
- Original publisher: El País (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2026-11-14/maryanne-wolf-neuroscientist-because-of-screens-we-have-learned-another-way-of-reading-that-short-circuits-the-brain.html
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Reading builds a network of connections across the brain.
- Wolf warns that reading habits can weaken without practice.
- She compares today’s digital shift with ancient Greece’s move to writing.

## Summary

Neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf argues that reading is a learned skill that builds connections across brain systems, rather than an ability humans are born with. She says the shift from print to digital culture may change how people read, and that preserving deep reading matters because it supports complex thought and creativity.

Wolf describes reading as a circuit linking vision, language, cognition, motor skills and emotion. She says these connections strengthen through practice, invoking the principle “use it or lose it”. Drawing a historical parallel, she notes that ancient Greeks took centuries to move from oral traditions towards written culture after the alphabet emerged around 800 BC.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.