Handwriting however not typewriting results in widespread mind connectivity: a high-density EEG research with implications for the classroom

Digital units are increasingly more changing conventional handwriting (Longcamp et al., 2006; Kiefer et al., 2015), and as each writing and studying have gotten more and more digitized within the classroom, we have to look at the implications of this apply (Mangen and Balsvik, 2016; Patterson and Patterson, 2017). Utilizing a keyboard is now typically really helpful for younger kids as it’s much less demanding and irritating (Cunningham and Stanovich, 1990; Fears and Lockman, 2018), permitting them to specific themselves in written type earlier (Hultin and Westman, 2013). Be that as it might, handwriting coaching has not solely been discovered to enhance spelling accuracy (Cunningham and Stanovich, 1990) and higher reminiscence and recall (Longcamp et al., 2006; Smoker et al., 2009; Mueller and Oppenheimer, 2014), but in addition to facilitate letter recognition and understanding (Longcamp et al., 2005, 2008; Li and James, 2016). Such advantages for studying have been reported no matter when writing by hand utilizing a standard pen or pencil or utilizing a digital pen (Osugi et al., 2019). Additionally, mind analysis exhibits that it isn’t simply any motor exercise that facilitates studying, however that precisely coordinating the complicated hand actions whereas rigorously shaping every letter when utilizing a pen, is essential (Pei et al., 2021). Apparently, the pen causes completely different underlying neurological processes that present the mind with optimum circumstances for studying and remembering (Askvik et al., 2020).

Current findings in neuroscience reveal that neural processes aren’t as localized and static as is usually believed, however that the mind is organized in a extremely dynamic practical method (Lopes da Silva, 1991; Singer, 1993). Beneath regular circumstances, a number of mind methods are regularly working collectively (Buzsáki, 2006), displaying an especially versatile group with structurally completely different neural tissue being concerned in neural circuits which might be solely briefly assembled in order to allow a given activity (Edelman and Gally, 2013; Van der Weel et al., 2019). In such a view, neurons can change operate fully when integrated in several methods (Anderson, 2014). Bullmore and Sporns (2009) confer with this kind of versatile group of the mind as practical connectivity as in opposition to structural connectivity.

Electroencephalography is properly suited to finding out mind electrical exercise as a operate of handwriting and typewriting within the millisecond scale. It permits the investigation of modifications within the standing of the underlying lively networks (Lopes da Silva, 1991) and might reveal the everchanging spatial patterns of activations which might be particular to any given activity (Pfurtscheller et al., 1996). Particularly, research of cortical oscillations detected with high-density EEG are actually thought of an indispensable side of latest methods neuroscience (Fröhlich, 2016).

Mind oscillations could be thought of because the interaction between the cortex and the thalamus and are generated by modifications concerned within the management of oscillations in neural networks (Pfurtscheller and Lopes da Silva, 1999). The complicated interactions and the ensuing explicit frequencies are thought to replicate distinct cognitive processes (Klimesch et al., 1994; Berens and Horner, 2017). The temporal group of neuronal firing is essential as it’s assumed to be elementary when forming long-term recollections within the hippocampus (Berens and Horner, 2017).

Frequency-specific modifications in EEG recordings could be noticed as event-related synchronization (ERS) or event-related desynchronization (ERD; Pfurtscheller and Aranibar, 1977; Pfurtscheller and Lopes da Silva, 1999). Spectral analyses are used to detect variations in a given frequency band (Pfurtscheller et al., 1994; Salmelin and Hari, 1994; Klimesch et al., 1996), by calculating the temporal dynamics of EEG oscillations and quantifying event-related amplifications and/or suppressions of rhythms.

A current EEG-study from our lab confirmed that drawing by hand causes extra exercise and includes bigger areas within the mind versus typing on a keyboard (Van der Meer and Van der Weel, 2017). We concluded that the involvement of positive and complicated hand actions in notetaking, in distinction with urgent keys on a keyboard that each one require the identical easy finger motion, could also be extra advantageous for studying (Van der Meer and Van der Weel, 2017). A follow-up research noticed event-related synchronized exercise within the theta vary in each kids and college students in parietal and central mind areas, however solely when writing by hand (Askvik et al., 2020). As these research have discovered proof that writing by hand facilitates studying, the current research additional investigated the neurobiological variations associated to cursive writing and typewriting within the younger grownup mind. Particularly, we investigated how the varied mind areas interconnect through neural networks when writing by hand versus typing on a keyboard utilizing frequency modulation and the most recent in mind connectivity evaluation (c.f., Solomon et al., 2017).

Forty college college students of their early twenties took half within the research on the Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Norwegian College of Science and Know-how (NTNU). HD EEG knowledge from 36 college students had been of fine sufficient high quality and sufficiently artifact-free to be included within the analyses. The info from 12 grownup individuals had been already utilized in analyses within the time-frequency area (Askvik et al., 2020). The current research carried out a mind connectivity evaluation to research the underlying neural networks concerned in duties of handwriting and typewriting. Individuals had been largely college students and had been recruited on the college campus. They acquired a $15 cinema ticket for participating. To keep away from crossover results between the 2 hemispheres, solely right-handed individuals had been included, as decided by the Edinburgh Handedness Stock (Oldfield, 1971). Permitting using (the fingers of) each palms would trigger many unexpected results on the mind, which might make it onerous to interpret the outcomes. Individuals gave their knowledgeable written consent, and it was made clear that they may withdraw from the experiment at any time with out penalties. The Regional Committee for Medical and Well being Ethics (Central Norway) permitted the research.

Experimental stimuli and EEG knowledge acquisition

E-prime 2.0 was used to individually show 15 completely different Pictionary phrases on a Microsoft Floor Studio. The individuals used a digital pen to write down in cursive by hand straight on the touchscreen, and a keyboard to typewrite the introduced phrases.

The experiment comprised a complete of 30 trials, the place every phrase appeared in two completely different circumstances, introduced in a randomized order. For every trial, individuals had been instructed to both (a) write in cursive with their proper hand the introduced phrase with a digital pen straight on the display screen, or (b) kind the introduced phrase utilizing the suitable index finger on the keyboard. Earlier than every trial, the instruction write or kind appeared earlier than one of many goal phrases appeared, and the individuals got 25 s to both write by hand or kind the phrase a number of instances, separated by an area. EEG knowledge had been recorded solely throughout the first 5 s of every trial. To forestall artifacts produced by head and eye actions attributable to shifting gaze between the display screen and the keyboard, typed phrases didn’t seem on the display screen whereas the participant was typewriting. The writings produced by the individuals (see Figure 1 for instance) had been saved for offline analyses.

Determine 1. Activity design, behavioral efficiency, and sequence of the connectivity analyses. Visually introduced phrases had been both written by hand with a digital pen or typed on a keyboard whereas individuals had been sporting a 256-channel sensor array. EEG recordings had been analyzed when it comes to their practical connectivity, leading to detailed community measures.

A Geodesic Sensor Web (GSN; Tucker et al., 1994) with 256 evenly distributed electrodes was used to file EEG exercise from the participant’s scalp at 500 Hz. The alerts had been amplified utilizing a high-input EGI amplifier (Picton et al., 2000).

Process

On arrival within the lab, a consent type with all crucial data was given to the individuals to signal. Whereas the participant accomplished the handedness take a look at, an appropriately sized internet was soaked in a saline electrolyte for 15 min to optimize electrical conductivity. The participant was sitting comfortably in an adjustable chair in entrance of a desk. The display screen was positioned on the desk as intently as doable to the participant. A keyboard was additionally positioned in a most popular place for the participant, and a digital pen was used for writing on the touchscreen. A pre-test was accomplished earlier than the experiment began, the place one of many experimenters was current within the room with the participant.

Mind knowledge pre-analyses

Mind Electrical Supply Evaluation (BESA model 7.0) analysis software program and BESA Connectivity (model 1.0) had been used to research the EEG knowledge. Epoch and filter settings had been the identical as in Askvik et al. (2020).

Channels contaminated by motion artifacts had been both eliminated or interpolated utilizing spherical spline interpolation (Perrin et al., 1989; Picton et al., 2000). As much as 10% of channels may very well be outlined as dangerous. Artifact correction was utilized utilizing guide and semi-automatic artifact correction with becoming spatial filters (Berg and Scherg, 1994; Ille et al., 2002; Fujioka et al., 2011).

The imply variety of accepted trials out of 15 was 14.1 (SD = 1.1) for handwriting and 13.3 (SD = 1.3) for typewriting. To investigate oscillatory mind exercise, a time-frequency evaluation in mind house was then carried out on accepted trials, see Askvik et al. (2020) for particulars. Optimum separation of mind exercise was achieved utilizing supply montages derived from a a number of supply mannequin the place waveforms separated completely different mind actions (Scherg and Berg, 1991). Utilizing this process, the time-frequency content material of various mind areas could be separated even when their actions severely overlap on the floor of the scalp (Hoechstetter et al., 2004). Then, the connectivity measure of Coherence was utilized, leading to a symmetric connectivity matrix with the higher and decrease triangular matrix displaying pairwise clusters symmetrical to the diagonal.

Statistical analyses

Chance of significance in connectivity values was examined with BESA Statistics 2.0, the place connectivity measures for all individuals had been computed and the numerous connectivity areas had been used as guides to find the extent of connectivity between the 2 experimental circumstances of writing and typing. A mixture of permutation assessments and knowledge clustering was employed. Permutation assessments had been utilized to every set of time samples belonging to at least one frequency bin (Simes, 1986). Information clusters that confirmed a major impact between circumstances had been assigned preliminary cluster values. Utilizing within-group ANOVA’s, these preliminary cluster values had been handed by permutation and assigned new clusters in order that the importance of the preliminary cluster may very well be decided. A Bonferroni correction was used for a number of comparisons. As in Askvik et al. (2020), cluster alpha, the importance stage for constructing clusters in time and/or frequency, was set at 0.01 and the variety of permutations was set at 10.000. Low- and excessive cut-offs for frequency had been saved at 2 Hz and 60 Hz respectively, and epochs had been set from −250 to 4,500 ms.

Excessive-density EEGs had been recorded throughout the experimental handwriting and typing circumstances. Artifacts had been faraway from the uncooked EEG recordings, then the inverse downside was solved through the use of a 4-shell ellipsoidal head mannequin to research the mind areas of curiosity. The time collection of the reconstructed sources had been obtained and remodeled into the frequency area utilizing complicated demodulation. The practical connectivity between the reconstructed sources was computed utilizing the coherence technique. A high-resolution practical connectivity matrix was obtained, and the corresponding practical mind community was visualized. Community measures had been then extracted from the community (Figure 1).

A time-frequency show is proven for 3 necessary mind areas in Figure 2 the place the facility/amplitude for every time is normalized to the imply energy/amplitude of the baseline epoch for that frequency. The x-axis exhibits the time relative to the occasion, the y-axis exhibits the frequencies. The intensities are displayed as a color-coded plot.

Determine 2. Grand common coherence outcomes. Displayed are solely three chosen connectivity areas of curiosity for the 2 experimental circumstances handwriting and typewriting (left panels), along with the distinction in coherence between writing and typing and their permutation outcomes (proper panels). Connectivity areas of huge vital distinction between handwriting and typewriting included mind areas CR-PM (central right-parietal midline, high two panels on the left) and CL-PM (central left-parietal midline, center two panels on the left), in addition to CM-CR (central midline-central proper, backside two panels on the left), in frequencies starting from theta (2 Hz) and as much as gamma (60 Hz). The x-axes show the time interval from baseline to 4,500 ms of recordings of the trial. The sign magnitude displays the estimated neural connectivity power between the varied mind areas throughout the experimental circumstances in comparison with baseline exercise (−250 to 0 ms). Constructive connectivity is proven as (shades of) red-colored contours in handwriting/typewriting plots (panels on the left) and distinction plots between handwriting and typewriting/permutation outcomes (panels on the suitable). Constructive connectivity is considerably extra outstanding in decrease frequencies (theta 3.5–7.5 Hz and alpha 8–12.5) for handwriting (0 ≤ p < 0.05, see additionally Figure 4).

Figure 2 shows the outcomes of grand common coherence outcomes from simply three chosen connectivity areas of curiosity for readability, for the 2 experimental circumstances handwriting and typewriting (left panels), along with the distinction in coherence between writing and typing and their permutation outcomes (proper panels). Connectivity areas of huge vital distinction between writing and typing included central and parietal mind areas in frequencies starting from theta (2 Hz) and as much as gamma (60 Hz). The sign magnitude displays estimated connectivity power between mind areas in comparison with baseline (−250 to 0 ms) exercise. Constructive connectivity patterns are proven in (shades of) purple. Within the central and parietal areas, optimistic coherence patterns had been extra outstanding within the decrease frequencies (theta 3.5–7.5 Hz and alpha 7.5–12.5 Hz) for handwriting versus typewriting. For handwriting, this exercise appeared between 1,000 to 2000 ms and lasted all through the trial.

The connectivity matrix of writing over typing

Comparisons between the 2 circumstances handwriting and typewriting had been computed for every participant with time-frequency shows (modifications in amplitude over time). TSE shows had been restricted between frequency cut-offs of two–60 Hz, whereas frequency and time had been sampled at 1 Hz and 50 ms, respectively. Symmetric connectivity measures had been then obtained from BESA Connectivity and a high-resolution practical connectivity matrix between the reconstructed sources was computed utilizing the coherence technique (Rosenberg et al., 1989). Right here, the variety of in-phase parts of two mind supply alerts at a selected frequency had been described, and the corresponding practical mind community was visualized in Figure 3. Lastly, community measures had been extracted from the community and introduced in Figure 4.

Determine 3. Connectivity outcomes of writing over typing. (A) Grand common connectivity matrix outcomes present widespread theta/alpha coherence outcomes (in purple) between PL, PM, PR and CL, CM, CR mind areas when writing by hand, however not when typing. The y-axes show frequencies from 2 to 60 Hz. The x-axes show the time interval from baseline to 4,500 ms of recordings of the trial for all concerned mind areas. The sign magnitude (coherence) displays the estimated neural connectivity between the varied mind areas throughout the writing situation in comparison with baseline exercise (−250 to 0 ms). (B) Additional illustration of connectivity patterns revealing a focus of 16 vital connections for handwriting in comparison with typewriting. Connection traces in purple point out connectivity within the theta vary whereas traces in blue point out connectivity within the alpha vary. Ranges of significance in connectivity power for handwriting, however not for typewriting are additional indicated by strong (<0.0001), dashed (<0.005), and dotted (<0.05) connection traces.

Determine 4. Symmetric connectivity matrix with t-values (A) and significance Desk (B) with vital knowledge clusters within the numerous sources of curiosity when handwriting is in comparison with typewriting in all individuals. Thirty-two vital cluster variations marked in orange in (A) and totally described in (B) had been discovered within the matrix and got here out notably vital within the parietal left (PL), parietal midline (PM), and parietal proper (PR) areas.

Figure 3A shows the grand common connectivity matrix for writing in comparison with typing. The matrix affords a compact description of the pairwise connectivity between all separate areas of the mind. All through the matrix there’s proof for widespread theta/alpha coherence outcomes (in purple) notably between areas parietal-right, parietal-mid, and parietal-left and between areas central-right and central-left. These connectivity patterns are additional illustrated in Figure 3B revealing a focus of a minimum of 32 vital clusters (see Figure 4 for particulars) for handwriting, however not for typewriting. A pair of clusters will characterize a single hyperlink between the corresponding pair of sources. The 32 vital clusters thus characterize 16 vital connections.

Fundamental statistical results

Analyses had been run to check for statistical variations in mind exercise between handwriting and typewriting. Figure 4 shows the detailed results (t-tests) of the permutation outcomes. These outcomes confirmed 32 vital cluster variations between the 2 experimental circumstances. The t-tests revealed vital variations in connectivity primarily within the theta (3.5–7.5 Hz) and alpha (8–12.5 Hz) vary inside three optimistic clusters (in orange), specifically within the parietal left (PL), parietal midline (PM), and parietal proper (PR) areas (see additionally Figure 3). These optimistic clusters recommend separate processes (variations in band energy) between handwriting and typewriting primarily within the parietal but in addition within the central areas.

As could be seen in Figure 4, vital clusters of variations in band energy had been discovered primarily in parietal and central mind areas.

Community measures

Figure 5 exhibits the adjacency matrix for handwriting within the type of a hub, nodes, and edges of a simplified theoretical community (Figure 5A). Hubs have the next diploma of involvement within the community than nodes as expressed by their practical connectivity values (edges). Figure 5B exhibits the mind connectivity community outcomes of handwriting in comparison with typewriting on this experiment. Proposed hubs (in purple, ≥ 4 departures/arrivals) and nodes (in black, ≤ 3 departures/arrivals) interacting between mind areas PL, PM, PR and CL, CM, CR present widespread theta/alpha coherence patterns indicating stronger connectivity when writing versus typing (Figure 5C).

Determine 5. The adjacency matrix for handwriting. (A) Hub, nodes, and edges of a simplified theoretical community. (B) Mind connectivity community of handwriting in comparison with typewriting on this experiment. (C) Hubs (in purple, ≥ 4 departures/arrivals) and nodes (in black, ≤ 3 departures/arrivals) interacting between mind areas PL, PM, PR and CL, CM, CR present widespread theta/alpha connectivity patterns when writing by hand, however not when typing.

This research investigated mind electrical connectivity as a operate of handwriting and typewriting utilizing high-density EEG in younger adults. Individuals used a digital pen to write down visually introduced phrases straight on a touchscreen and used a keyboard to kind the phrases. Going past our earlier research the place we reported synchronized theta oscillations in parietal and central mind areas when kids and college students wrote by hand (Askvik et al., 2020), the current research carried out connectivity analyses on the mind knowledge of 36 college students to discover underlying variations in coherence patterns when individuals had been typing versus writing by hand.

Specializing in mind connectivity that has proven to facilitate studying and reminiscence (Pfurtscheller and Lopes da Silva, 1999), we investigated parietal and central areas in particular frequency bands. These mind areas have been related to attentional mechanisms and cognitive processes in visible notion (Pfurtscheller et al., 1994; Vilhelmsen et al., 2019) and language (Brownsett and Wise, 2010; Benedek et al., 2014), and have sturdy hyperlinks to sensorimotor cortex (Velasques et al., 2007). We got down to examine whether or not it’s truly the act of forming the letters by hand itself that brings about bigger connectivity within the mind, since perceptual, motor, and better cognitive areas are extra concerned throughout handwriting versus typewriting.

Elevated connectivity in theta/alpha vary for handwriting

The current findings revealed elevated connectivity for handwriting over typewriting, suggesting that completely different underlying cognitive processes are concerned within the two duties. Elevated connectivity throughout the theta (3.5–7.5 Hz) and alpha (8–12.5 Hz) frequency bands has been linked to mechanisms underlying sensorimotor integration (Bland and Oddie, 2001). As elevated connectivity within the mind was noticed solely when writing by hand and never when merely urgent keys on the keyboard, our findings could be taken as proof that handwriting promotes studying. Apparently, the elevated connectivity between the varied mind areas appears to be linked to the precise sensorimotor processes which might be so typical in handwriting.

The theta/alpha connectivity patterns discovered within the current research might point out that completely different neural networks are concerned in handwriting and typewriting. Apparently, whereas connectivity within the alpha band is taken into account extremely task-specific and is alleged to correspond to long-term reminiscence efficiency, theta connectivity appears to be associated to working reminiscence and the power to apprehend novel data (Klimesch et al., 1994, 1996, 2001; Klimesch, 1999; Raghavachari et al., 2001; Clouter et al., 2017). Thus, the improved mind connectivity for handwriting seems to not be associated to variations in muscular involvement. It has additionally been proposed that hippocampal exercise is mirrored throughout the theta band (Klimesch et al., 1994), including additional assist for the advantages of handwriting when it comes to studying and reminiscence formation.

Decrease frequencies are thought of particularly suited to facilitating communication over longer distances within the mind, and are sometimes reported to “gate” the prevalence of sooner oscillations, for instance when theta oscillations in people are proposed to gate gamma (> 30 Hz) oscillations (Canolty et al., 2006; Halgren et al., 2018). Generally, this theta-to-gamma cross-frequency coupling could be linked to gamma networks desynchronizing and theta networks synchronizing throughout encoding, retrieval, and episodic reminiscence formation (Burke et al., 2013). Others have steered that theta connectivity exercise (see Figure 3) is positively correlated with a mind area’s gamma energy, suggesting a potent low-frequency mechanism for communication between mind areas (Solomon et al., 2017). Exploring these interactions might disclose the connection between a mind area’s practical connectivity and native processing. Our outcomes replicate such a low-frequency mechanism for interregional communication. Current findings of theta synchrony for handwriting recommend that low-frequency connections assist the mixing of data throughout reminiscence formation, and observe from earlier research which have reported low-frequency entrainment to be important to cognition (Solomon et al., 2017).

The significance of handwriting apply in a studying surroundings

Handwriting requires positive motor management over the fingers, and it forces college students to concentrate to what they’re doing. Typing, then again, requires mechanical and repetitive actions that commerce consciousness for pace. Our outcomes reveal that each time handwriting actions are included as a studying technique, extra of the mind will get stimulated, ensuing within the formation of extra complicated neural community connectivity. It seems that the actions associated to typewriting don’t activate these connectivity networks the identical approach that handwriting does. The concurrent spatiotemporal sample from imaginative and prescient, motor instructions, and proprioceptive suggestions offered by positive hand and finger actions, is missing in typewriting, the place solely a easy key press is required to supply the complete wished type (Longcamp et al., 2006; James, 2010; Vinci-Booher et al., 2016, 2021). Within the current research, individuals solely used their proper index finger for typing to stop undesired crossover results between the 2 hemispheres.

Thus, the continuing substitution of handwriting by typewriting in virtually each instructional setting could appear considerably misguided because it may have an effect on the educational course of in a destructive approach (Alonso, 2015; Mangen and Balsvik, 2016; Arnold et al., 2017). The current findings recommend that the intricate and exactly managed handwriting actions have a helpful affect on the mind’s connectivity patterns associated to studying and remembering. The current research didn’t discover proof of such optimistic activation patterns when utilizing a keyboard.

Although sustaining handwriting apply at school is essential, it’s also necessary to maintain up within the ever-developing digital world. Kids ought to obtain handwriting coaching at college to study to write down by hand efficiently, and, on the similar time study to make use of a keyboard, relying on the duty at hand. The current research exhibits that the neural connectivity patterns underlying handwriting and typewriting are distinctly completely different. Therefore, being conscious of when to write down by hand or use a digital system is essential, whether or not it’s to take lecture notes to study new ideas or to write down longer essays.