the present paper has a threefold objective: (i) to present a sociocultural view on human cognition; (ii) to review studies on the impacts of learning to read on brain activity; and (iii) to draw a parallel between a Vygotskian view on human cognition and neuroscientific evidence about the changes that take place in human brain activity as we learn to read. The reviewed studies show how learning to read changes brain activity, as well as how the brain reorganizes itself in order to accommodate

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... ew functions as a response to this process. From a Vygotskian stance, this illustrates how human cognitive development is fostered on the external plane, as we interact with socioculturally constructed artifacts.