120 years ago Jules Dejerine described a patient who "suddenly observed that he could not read a single word, while he could write and speak quite well, and could distinguish as clearly as before all the objects and persons which surrounded him". Since then, the "reading area" of the brain has been the object of substantial research and debate. Recently, this debate has been focused on whether this area is specialized for reading, or whether it is rather a general-purpose area associating visual form (words or objects) with meaning. The latter thesis was supported by the fact that illiterate individuals use this particular area of the brain to recognise objects. This could suggest that it is the ability of reading that triggers changes in the brain, and as a consequence some areas responsible for the recognition of objects transform into the visual word area.

"We've been tackling this problem for quite a long time", says Dr Szwed from the Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, "However, non-invasive imaging techniques (functional MRI, MEG, EEG) are not sensitive enough to provide information about such a small area of the brain". The solution to this problem was found in a neurological hospital in Grenoble (France), which treats epileptic patients qualifying for surgery. In order to determine the epilepsy centre, the patients have electrodes placed in their brains for the period of one week. In the course of the one-week procedure, the patients often take psychological tests connected with viewing images displayed on the screen. Among many patients treated in Grenoble, there were two women who had their electrodes placed precisely in the visual word form area and who agreed to participate in the experiment conducted by a French team led by Dr Jean Philippe Lachaux. Dr Szwed, specialising in reading mechanisms, joined the research team as part of the project run by the Foundation for Polish Science. The results of the experiment proved impressive. Contrary to what had been thought before, the reactions of the visual word area were extremely "pure", which meant that the neurons in this area of the brain responded only to words. They didn't respond to faces, animals or road signs.

"Even I found the results hard to believe", admits Dr Szwed, "I haven't seen such responses in my life. It means that some areas of the human brain can become highly specialized thanks to learning. The flexibility of the human brain is still underestimated". The findings of the experiment have been published in the latest issue of the prestigious American magazine: „Neurology" (as of 5 February 2013).

Dr Marcin Szwed is employed at the Department of Psychophysiology of the Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University. In March 2012 he became a winner of the 4th edition of HOMING PLUS programme run by the Foundation for Polish Science.