Handwriting Lights Up Your Brain—Here’s How

KEY FOCAL POINT: This neural contrast, shown in a study in Frontiers in Psychology, is just one piece of mounting evidence suggesting that our rush toward digital convenience may be coupled with significant cognitive costs. From neuroscience labs to classrooms, research comparing traditional and digital learning tools finds that pens are not old-school quite yet.

ANOTHER TAKE AWAY FOR ME: Handwriting creates a unique cognitive fingerprint.

“If you miss class and borrow a classmate’s notes, they don’t make much sense, because it’s personalized to the individual,” Van der Meer said.

Given her findings on handwriting’s powerful brain stimulation effects in younger adults, Van der Meer believes that these benefits may extend to older populations. She is currently investigating whether keeping a handwritten diary might help protect against cognitive decline in older adults.

MY TAKE: You need to read the whole article. But the most chilling quote for me was: “The brain uses the principle: Use it or lose it......I fear that in the long run, our brains might actually shrink if we don’t use them properly.”