Do you wonder why you can’t remember things anymore?
You might start feeling bad about yourself, making you susceptible to companies selling quick fixes, frameworks, or training programs to ‘improve’ your brain.
We found a study that helps you rephrase the worry you’re forgetting things.
Setting of the study
Students were asked to write words by hand. Then type the same words on a keyboard.
The brain did not respond the same way.
Handwriting set off a coordinated burst across the brain. Memory, touch, movement, and visual areas worked together. Theta and alpha rhythms rose across parietal and central regions, the kind of activity linked to learning.
When the students typed, much of that network went quiet. Typing relies on repeated, identical keystrokes. The brain has less to map, less to track, less to remember.
We thought typing makes us faster. But faster input can mean thinner thinking.
Short summary of the study
The study used high-density EEG (256 channels) to record brain activity in 36 university students while they handwritten words with a digital pen versus typing them on a keyboard. Results showed that handwriting produced widespread theta/alpha brain connectivity in parietal and central regions, which are critical for memory formation and learning. Typing did not elicit similar connectivity patterns.
Details about the research article
Van der Weel, F. R. (Ruud), & Van der Meer, Audrey L. H. (2024). Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom. *Frontiers in Psychology*, 14, 1219945. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945
– Authors: F. R. (Ruud) Van der Weel and Audrey L. H. Van der Meer
– Affiliation: Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
– Journal: Frontiers in Psychology
– Volume: 14
– Article Number: 1219945
– Publication Date: January 26, 2024 (online)
– DOI: [10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945](https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945)
Access the Article:
– Full Text (HTML): [Frontiers in Psychology](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945/full)
– PDF Version: [Download PDF](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945/pdf)
– PubMed Central (PMC): [PMC10853352](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10853352/)
– ResearchGate: [Publication Link](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378155772_Handwriting_but_not_typewriting_leads_to_widespread_brain_connectivity_a_high-density_EEG_study_with_implications_for_the_classroom)
Critics
In the commentary of the article we find statements that dive deeper into the topic, cite other studies and give you the basis for a discussion. (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1517235/full)
Don´t forget 🙂
There are no quick fixes.
