Your Brain on Code
Is reading code like solving math problems? or is it more like reading in general? Neither, it turns out. MIT researcher Eveline Fedorenko and team placed coders in a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) scanner, and showed them code in a programming language in which they were proficient, then asked them questions about the code. Although coding languages have many things in common with human languages, like meaning units and syntax, the fMRI showed that reading code did not significantly activate the regions of the brain associated with language. These language regions of the brain, including Broca's area, are primarily in the left hemisphere. Instead, the distributed parts of the brain known as the multiple demand (MD) network were activated across the brain. These regions had previously been shown to be activated for complex mental tasks like solving math problems, or doing crossword puzzles. However, the regions activated for the coders were not identical to those activate