Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom

Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a

high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom
F. R. (Ruud) Van der Weel Audrey L. H. Van der Meer*

 Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University 
of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

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. source