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Brain activation associated with practiced left hand mirror writing.

T Kushnir¹, Y Arzouan, A Karni

¹Dept. of Diagnostic Imaging, MRI Unit, The Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer 52621, Israel. kushnirt@post.tau.ac.il

Brain and Language

|March 5, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Practicing mirror writing with the left hand (lh-MW) improved performance and activated brain regions associated with visual processing and language in healthy adults. This suggests mirror writing may be a latent ability that practice can reveal.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Motor Control

Background:

Mirror writing is observed in children, pathologies, and sometimes healthy adults, but its neural underpinnings are poorly understood.
Existing research on the brain mechanisms of mirror writing is limited, necessitating further experimental investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural changes associated with learning and performing left-hand mirror-writing (lh-MW) in healthy adults.
To explore whether brief practice can enhance lh-MW performance and alter brain activity patterns.

Main Methods:

Eight healthy, right-handed young adults underwent BOLD-fMRI scans before and after seven sessions of lh-MW practice.
Participants performed dictated word writing using their right hand (normal orientation) and left hand (mirror-writing), with an MRI-compatible stylus and visual feedback.
Movement data were collected to assess changes in writing speed, readability, and movement segments.

Main Results:

Practice significantly improved the speed and readability of lh-MW without altering the number of movement segments.
Post-training fMRI revealed increased signal in visual, right premotor (lateral and medial), and right peri-sylvian areas (language-related).

Conclusions:

Left-hand mirror-writing (lh-MW) appears to be a latent ability that can be reactivated through consistent practice.
The observed brain activity suggests the emergence of right-hemisphere language processing and potentially reduced interhemispheric inhibition during lh-MW.