What Happens in Your Brain When You 'Lose Yourself' in Fiction
AnonTechie writes:
Study examines fans of 'Game of Thrones' characters:
If you count yourself among those who lose themselves in the lives of fictional characters, scientists now have a better idea of how that happens.
Researchers found that the more immersed people tend to get into "becoming" a fictional character, the more they use the same part of the brain to think about the character as they do to think about themselves.
"When they think about a favorite fictional character, it appears similar in one part of the brain as when they are thinking about themselves," said Timothy Broom, lead author of the study and doctoral student in psychology at The Ohio State University.
The study was published online recently in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
The study involved scanning the brains of 19 self-described fans of the HBO series "Game of Thrones" while they thought about themselves, nine of their friends and nine characters from the series. (The characters were Bronn, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Davos Seaworth, Jaime Lannister, Jon Snow, Petyr Baelish, Sandor Clegane and Ygritte.)
Participants reported which "Game of Thrones" character they felt closest to and liked the most.
[...] The findings help explain how fiction can have such a big impact on some people, said Dylan Wanger, co-author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State.
[Story Source]: The Ohio State University
[Journal Reference]: Oxford University Press
Have you experienced this while immersed in playing games ? If yes, which fictional character do you identify with and why ?
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