Cognitive Absorption Independent Cortical Activities and Connectivities Associated with Real-World Reading

Characterizing brain activities underlying text reading in an ecologically valid context and identifying whether aspects of these activities are independent of one’s state of cognitive absorption (CA) are important yet unexplored lines of research in cognitive neuroscience. This study investigated the oculometric behavior and electroencephalographic (EEG) activities associated with text reading in 25 human subjects while they viewed a live theatrical stage performance, and further assessed relationships with self-perceived CA. Behaviorally, subjects anticipated the appearance of text, and regarded it in a manner that was independent of CA. Neurophysiologically, text presence/absence was differentiated primarily by EEG theta activities and beta connectivities in or between visuospatial processing areas. Importantly, text presence-associated increases in theta activity in the frontal eye field and beta connectivity between the precuneus and the primary visual cortex were independent of CA, suggesting underlying roles in the automaticity of text reading behaviors.