One of the many abilities we take for granted about ourselves is our astounding capacity to immerse ourselves in fictional worlds through diverse mediums (e.g., books, films, games), and re-emerge from them back into our reality with no sense of confusion about what is real and what is not. We can be so deeply emotionally absorbed in these fictional realms so as to weep, giggle, feel fearful or be shocked while experiencing the events that come to pass in these worlds. Yet, when the experience is over, we come out of it unscathed in terms of our understanding of what is real.
How is this possible? And can neuroscience guide us in arriving at the right answers?
I contributed a book chapter to an edited volume Neuroscience in Intercultural Contexts that was published towards the end of 2015. In it, I explore factors that facilitate our understanding of the reality/fiction distinction on the basis of neuroscientific investigations of this question. I particularly focus on the dominant role played by the factor of personal significance/relevance in social contexts in bringing about this implicit knowledge.
The chapter largely derives from some of my previous work:
1. Abraham A, von Cramon DY & Schubotz RI (2008). Meeting George Bush versus meeting Cinderella: The neural response when telling apart what is real from what is fictional in the context of our reality. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20 (6), 965-976.
2. Abraham A & von Cramon DY (2009) Reality = Relevance? Insights from spontaneous modulations of the brain’s default network when telling apart reality from fiction. PLoS ONE, 4(3), e4741: 1-9.
3. Abraham A (2013). The world according to me: Personal relevance and the medial prefrontal cortex. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 341: 1-4.
I have also explored related issues in external blogposts following the Salzburg 547 session on "The Neuroscience of Art: What are the the Sources of Creativity and Innovation?" in February 2015.
1. The Four Walls of an Empiricist
2. The Meandering Imagination
How is this possible? And can neuroscience guide us in arriving at the right answers?
I contributed a book chapter to an edited volume Neuroscience in Intercultural Contexts that was published towards the end of 2015. In it, I explore factors that facilitate our understanding of the reality/fiction distinction on the basis of neuroscientific investigations of this question. I particularly focus on the dominant role played by the factor of personal significance/relevance in social contexts in bringing about this implicit knowledge.
The chapter largely derives from some of my previous work:
1. Abraham A, von Cramon DY & Schubotz RI (2008). Meeting George Bush versus meeting Cinderella: The neural response when telling apart what is real from what is fictional in the context of our reality. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20 (6), 965-976.
2. Abraham A & von Cramon DY (2009) Reality = Relevance? Insights from spontaneous modulations of the brain’s default network when telling apart reality from fiction. PLoS ONE, 4(3), e4741: 1-9.
3. Abraham A (2013). The world according to me: Personal relevance and the medial prefrontal cortex. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 341: 1-4.
I have also explored related issues in external blogposts following the Salzburg 547 session on "The Neuroscience of Art: What are the the Sources of Creativity and Innovation?" in February 2015.
1. The Four Walls of an Empiricist
2. The Meandering Imagination
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