Sunday, October 31, 2010

Handwriting Beneficial for the Brain

Research showing that handwriting engages different parts of the brain, and strengthens the brain, is no shock to those of us who know what we write by hand is very different from what we write on keyboards. But, apparently, it's news to other people. So much so that The Wall Street Journal is reporting on a recent study.

They quote:
"It seems there is something really important about manually manipulating and drawing out two-dimensional things we see all the time," says Karin Harman James, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Indiana University who led the study.

Read the whole story at:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwNjEwNDYyWj.html

We've known for years that different parts of the brain are engaged when we write by hand. In "Patsy World," this is common sense. I guess in the "World World," we need studies to confirm it. I'm glad there is a new one. And that the media is reporting it.

2 comments:

Judith Robl said...

That's why some authors still write longhand, no matter the convenience of rewriting on computer. I personally spend a lot of time typing in handwritten things. It offers me the opportunity to let my editor loose on the work. Handwriting is what my granddaughter calls "brain dump." You just let it all hang out.

Thanks for the link. Our brains need all the exercise they can get. At least mine does. Happy Monday.

Patsy Terrell said...

I do my creative thinking/writing in longhand. Once I get to the keyboard it's just rote.