ArticleFrontiers in psychology2023
Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Writing as cognitive rehabilitation in MCI and dementia: a systematic review of therapeutic benefits and applications.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- From pen to prompt: does digital medicine matter for the hands of the future microsurgeon?Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- Educating minds with generative AI.Communications psychology · 2026Review
- Why Handwriting Matters.Indian pediatrics · 2026Article
- Digital Transition and Mental Health in School Settings: Does Handwriting Still Matter? A Multidisciplinary Perspective.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Handwriting as a Biomarker for Early Detection of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases: A Comprehensive Guide for Researchers.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Quantitative analysis of handwriting kinematics in primary and lower secondary school children through a sensorized ink pen: A cross-sectional population-based study.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Magnetoencephalography Source Connectivity Pipeline Reveals Long-Range Connectivity in Audio-Visual Integration.The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Article
- Cortical representation of multidimensional handwriting movement and implications for neuroprostheses.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Brain activity and the production of written text during mediumistic trance: A controlled EEG study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Therapeutic arts in Alzheimer disease: a brief review of evidence and mechanisms.Dementia & neuropsychologia · 2026Review
- Writing is thinking: toward a neuropsychological model of scientific writing as knowledge construction.Frontiers in cognition · 2026Article
- Scientists' Warning to Humanity: The Need to Begin Teaching Critical and Systems Thinking Early in Life.Microbial biotechnology · 2025Article
- The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing-Who Wins the Battle?Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Content validity of the Handwriting Assessment Battery (HAB-v6) for use with adults with acquired brain injury (ABI): An international Delphi study.Australian occupational therapy journal · 2025Article
- Quantification of Motor Learning in Hand Adjustability Movements: An Evaluation Variable for Discriminant Cognitive Decline.IEEE journal of translational engineering in health and medicine · 2025Article
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Neuronal Gamma Oscillations During Occlusion Events in Infants.Developmental psychobiology · 2025Article
- The Integrative Single-Case Design as a Biosemiotic-Systemic Research Tool in Psychoneuroimmunology.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Commentary: Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
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2 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
As traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human brain. Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning. Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain's connectivity patterns that promote learning. We urge that children, from an early age, must be exposed to handwriting activities in school to establish the neuronal connectivity patterns that provide the brain with optimal conditions for learning. Although it is vital to maintain handwriting practice at school, it is also important to keep up with continuously developing technological advances. Therefore, both teachers and students should be aware of which practice has the best learning effect in what context, for example when taking lecture notes or when writing an essay.
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