For learning and memory, pens may be mightier than keyboards
BY CLAUDIA LÓPEZ LLOREDA
Writing out the same word again and again in cursive may bring back bad memories for some people, but handwriting can boost connectivity across brain regions that are implicated in learning and memory, a new study shows.
When college students wrote words by hand, connectivity across the brain- particularly in brain waves associated with memory formation – increased compared with when students typed the words, researchers report January 26 in Frontiers in Psychology.
The finding shows that “there is a fundamental difference in brain organization for handwriting as opposed to typing,” says neuroscientist Ramesh Balasubramaniam of the University of California, Merced, who was not involved in the research.
It also adds to growing evidence of handwriting’s benefits. Previous research has shown that handwriting improves spelling accuracy, memory recall and conceptual understanding. Scientists think that the slow process of tracing out letters and words gives individuals more time to process the material and that the intricate movement itself aids learning.
In the new study, psychologists Audrey van der Meer and Ruud Vander Weel, both of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, recruited 36 students from the university and stuck a cap of electrodes on their heads. The researchers asked the students to type or handwrite in cursive with a digital pen a word that appeared on a computer screen.
The cap recorded electrical brain activity while participants carried out each task.
In the data, the researchers looked for coherence: two brain areas active with the same frequency of electrical waves at the same time. Scientists use brain activity to calculate coherence between brain areas, which can indicate how strongly those areas are connected.
Handwriting but not typing showed coherence. Relative to typing, handwriting increased activity in low-frequency alpha and theta waves in brain areas associated with learning, the team found. Handwriting also increased connectivity across central brain regions, many of which are implicated in memory, and across parietal regions, which are involved in sensory and motor processing.
The findings suggest that distinct processes of brain activation happen while a person types or writes. Even with very similar movements, “the activation seems much, much higher in handwriting,” Balasubramaniam says. “There’s more involvement of these brain regions when you’re handwriting”
Van der Meer and van der Weel think this boost may facilitate learning because these particular waves between these specific brain regions are implicated in memory formation. But since the study did not test whether participants remembered the words, it’s unclear how the increased activity impacts learning, says psychologist Kathleen Arnold of Radford University in Virginia. The study “warrants some follow up to see what exactly is causing those connectivity differences and whether or not they reflect learning outcomes.
Get More Info : Remote Counseling in Paterson
Website : https://mindcarecenter.net/
Contact Us : Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown Westchester
.png)