Writing by hand may increase brain connectivity more than typing on a keyboard

As digital gadgets progressively substitute pen and paper, taking notes by hand is changing into more and more unusual in colleges and universities. Utilizing a keyboard is advisable as a result of it is usually sooner than writing by hand. Nonetheless, the latter has been discovered to enhance spelling accuracy and reminiscence recall.

To search out out if the method of forming letters by hand resulted in higher brain connectivity, researchers in Norway now investigated the underlying neural networks concerned in each modes of writing.

“We present that when writing by hand, mind connectivity patterns are much more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard,” mentioned Prof Audrey van der Meer, a mind researcher on the Norwegian College of Science and Know-how and co-author of the research revealed in Frontiers in Psychology.

“Such widespread mind connectivity is understood to be essential for reminiscence formation and for encoding new data and, due to this fact, is useful for studying.”

The pen is mightier than the (key)board

The researchers collected EEG information from 36 university students who have been repeatedly prompted to both write or kind a phrase that appeared on a display. When writing, they used a digital pen to jot down in cursive instantly on a touchscreen. When typing they used a single finger to press keys on a keyboard.

Excessive-density EEGs, which measure electrical activity within the mind utilizing 256 small sensors sewn in a web and positioned over the pinnacle, have been recorded for 5 seconds for each immediate.

Connectivity of various mind areas elevated when members wrote by hand, however not after they typed. “Our findings counsel that visible and motion data obtained by way of exactly managed hand movements when utilizing a pen contribute extensively to the mind’s connectivity patterns that promote studying,” van der Meer mentioned.

Motion for reminiscence

Though the members used digital pens for handwriting, the researchers mentioned that the outcomes are anticipated to be the identical when utilizing an actual pen on paper.

“We’ve proven that the variations in brain activity are associated to the cautious forming of the letters when writing by hand whereas making extra use of the senses,” van der Meer defined. Since it’s the motion of the fingers carried out when forming letters that promotes mind connectivity, writing in print can be anticipated to have comparable advantages for studying as cursive writing.

Quite the opposite, the easy motion of hitting a key with the identical finger repeatedly is much less stimulating for the mind. “This additionally explains why kids who’ve discovered to jot down and browse on a pill, can have issue differentiating between letters which can be mirror images of one another, resembling ‘b’ and ‘d.’ They actually have not felt with their our bodies what it seems like to supply these letters,” van der Meer mentioned.

A balancing act

Their findings display the necessity to give college students the chance to make use of pens, somewhat than having them kind throughout class, the researchers mentioned. Tips to make sure that college students obtain not less than a minimal of handwriting instruction may very well be an satisfactory step. For instance, cursive writing coaching has been re-implemented in lots of US states initially of the yr.

On the identical time, additionally it is necessary to maintain up with constantly creating technological advances, they cautioned. This contains consciousness of what approach of writing affords extra benefits underneath which circumstances.

“There’s some proof that college students study extra and keep in mind higher when taking handwritten lecture notes, whereas utilizing a pc with a keyboard could also be extra sensible when writing a protracted textual content or essay,” van der Meer concluded.