Examining the Relationship between Story Structure and Audience Response How Shared Brain Activity Varies over the Course of a Narrative

When audiences watch a movie, we can examine the similarities among their brain activity via inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis. This study examines how the strength of ISC (how similarly brains respond) varies over the course of a Pixar short film: specifically comparing this across the exposition, rising action, climax/fall out, and resolution sections of the story. We focus on ISC in the mentalizing network, often linked to social-cognitive processes that are essential to narrative engagement. We find that ISC rises from exposition to the climax. Moreover, we explore this shared response across age groups, finding that ISC is present across age groups, albeit weak in younger children. This approach offers new insights into the brain basis of engagement and story structure.

Automated summary

The study found that there are similarities in brain activity among audiences watching Pixar short films, and this similarity varies at different stages of the story plot. As the story progresses, the similarity in brain activity shows a clear increasing trend, and this shared response is also present across different age groups, although weaker in younger children.