University of Tokyo fMRI study finds paper and tablet manga readers score equally on story comprehension

A study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that readers who began a manga story in a physical book later answered complex questions about the narrative faster than those who started on a tablet. , the publisher of Record of Ragnarok and Wakako Sake. Twenty-five right-handed Japanese college students each read the first half of a manga story either on paper or on a screen.

Participants then entered an fMRI scanner and read the second half through specialized goggles before taking a quiz on the plot. Questions tested either the first half alone or required integration of both halves. Both groups scored high on accuracy and comprehension overall.

However, those who read the first half on a tablet took longer to answer the integration questions. Kuniyoshi L. ” The study interpreted lower brain activity among paper readers in language and narrative areas as evidence of greater efficiency.

Tablet readers showed higher activity in those regions plus areas tied to spatial processing and difficult cognitive tasks. A 2019 study in the journal Pediatrics reached a related conclusion about parent-child bonding. It found that families reading physical books together formed stronger interactions than those using e-readers.