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Drink_Punk_Soda
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Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways
#7486736 - 10/04/07 10:28 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hi all,
Man, I haven't been here in almost half a year. Someone revived an ooold thread and I got the email notice. 
Anyway, I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out. If this thread is better suited for the Mental and Physical forum, or the Science forum, please relocate it (thanks in advance Mods.. even though I haven't checked to see who's still around yet).
I have recently decided to teach myself to write with my non-dominant hand. I am a dominant right-hander, so I've been practicing with my left. I understand that generally speaking, your dominant hand is linked to the opposite brain hemisphere- so in my case, when I write, I'm using my left brain, so to speak. When I write with my left hand, I'm using my right brain.
It seems to be commonly accepted among those who support and encourage non-dominant hand development that using the opposite hand increases coordination between the brain cortices. That is to say, writing with my left hand would lead to the development of new neural pathways between my brain hemispheres, allowing information to access and be processed by areas where it previously wasn't. That sounds good to me, I'm all for building a stronger brain. The problem is, I can't seem to find any legitimate research that even approaches this topic.
Does anyone here know of any studies done to support this claim? My girlfriend, who is a graduate student in Speech Pathology and thus has studied the brain to some great extent, is of the opinion that "new pathways" stop being produced, or slow to the point of being insignificant, as one approaches 25 years old, after which point the "inactive" pathways become for all intents and purposes, useless. Basically she's telling me that learning to write lefty, while arguably a useful skill, won't help me think using my right brain to any greater extent. I have no reason to doubt her, but I'd like to think that isn't true.
So to summarize the question: Does anyone know of any research which discusses whether or not using one's non-dominant hand increases activity in the non-dominant brain hemisphere? I'd be really interested to read about it regardless of the conclusion.
Thanks in advance!
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Acaterpillar
A little mad...



Registered: 06/09/07
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7486743 - 10/04/07 10:32 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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My thoughts on it (This isn't knowledge just hypothesis) is that she would be reffering to naturally created pathways by things like puberty, but I think you could create new pathways at almost any time with the right stimuli reoccuring frequently enough.
-------------------- Aaa...E I O Uuu...A E I O Uuu..A E I O uh Uuu.. *Cough* *Cough* Ooo...U E I O Aaa...U E I Aaa..A E I O Uuuuu... At first sight, The Perfection of Wisdom is bewildering, full of paradox and apparent irrationality.
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Drink_Punk_Soda
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Acaterpillar]
#7486793 - 10/04/07 10:49 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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That's what I had assumed (without basis) and was hoping was true. I'm just wondering if there has been any evidence to support that theory. Maybe my Google-Fu isn't what it used to be, but I can't seem to find any relevant information.
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Kumbayah my lord, Kumbayah...
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Toddo
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7486811 - 10/04/07 10:56 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hey man, its good to see you found your way back!
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blkjkrabbit

Registered: 07/22/07
Posts: 4,971
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7486818 - 10/04/07 10:58 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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i don't buy it - you're just learning to use your hand i don't think learning to write with your fuckin feet would make you smarter. but i do see what you're getting at. i'm ambidextrous though, maybe i'm a genius? 
although i doubt it - try it! i'm very curious to see if you feel any different. i had to learn to coordinate my hands very precisely for my trade and haven't really noticed anything. maybe i'm a bit more able with my hand and my head, but i think that's as far as it goes
Edited by blkjkrabbit (10/04/07 11:03 PM)
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TruuBeeezzy
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Toddo]
#7486829 - 10/04/07 11:00 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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sounds legit man. since im 19 i still stand a chance?
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LucidDream
Hungry BlueFiend



Registered: 05/09/03
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: TruuBeeezzy]
#7486873 - 10/04/07 11:19 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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It's long been known that doing any new activity creates new neural pathways, and more activity reinforces those pathways. I can't cite chapter and verse, but that's basic neuroscience.
My art teacher in college had a very challenging exercise that would work well for working on a non-dominant hand:
We had to draw a picture of Igor Stravinsky upside down, using a grid. It defeats the pattern-recognition aspect of the brain as it relates to human faces. Doing it with the left hand would be ten times as hard. I'm kinda tempted to try it sometime, though I'd prefer to draw someone other than Stravinsky, that pagan bastid (I had to play the Rite of Spring in Orchestra in high school. It was sheer agony.)
-------------------- Sarcasm just one of my many talents.
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Drink_Punk_Soda
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: blkjkrabbit]
#7486888 - 10/04/07 11:26 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I didn't mean to imply that it would "make me smarter" per se, only that I would perceive the world in a different way. The left hemisphere of your brain is responsible for processing things like Language, Math, and Logic, whereas the right side processes Spatial Relations, Visual Imagery, Music, and Artistic ability. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me that regularly practicing something that works with the less-used side of the brain would result in that part of the brain becoming more active on a regular basis.
I do intend to try it anyway- like I said, if it isn't true, worst case scenario is I learned a new trick. What trade did you learn, if you don't mind me asking? You mention that you are ambidextrous, but are there certain tasks that you do more often with one hand?
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Kumbayah my lord, Kumbayah...
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blkjkrabbit

Registered: 07/22/07
Posts: 4,971
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7486894 - 10/04/07 11:31 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Drink_Punk_Soda said: I didn't mean to imply that it would "make me smarter" per se, only that I would perceive the world in a different way. The left hemisphere of your brain is responsible for processing things like Language, Math, and Logic, whereas the right side processes Spatial Relations, Visual Imagery, Music, and Artistic ability. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me that regularly practicing something that works with the less-used side of the brain would result in that part of the brain becoming more active on a regular basis.
I do intend to try it anyway- like I said, if it isn't true, worst case scenario is I learned a new trick. What trade did you learn, if you don't mind me asking? You mention that you are ambidextrous, but are there certain tasks that you do more often with one hand?
good point for sure it's definitely an interesting idea. i'm pretty well balanced with my hand coordination but i'm a little more of a righty. i'm a welder and the tig welding process requires some long stints of concentration [10-15 minutes of uninterrupted, complete focus]. when i was learning to weld i had to develop a lot of coordination in my left hand. most rightys hold the torch in the right, somehow i got used to using my left. but yeah, i actually want to try writing/drawing with my left now this sounds interesting
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Drink_Punk_Soda
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: LucidDream]
#7486917 - 10/04/07 11:39 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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How's this?

Haha.. I won't even pretend I drew that. Part of the reason I want to work on my right hemisphere is because although I am musically inclined, I've never been very artistically talented. I think it'd be difficult enough at this stage to simply trace that image, upside down or not. Then again I've only been actively using my left hand to write with for two days so far.
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Kumbayah my lord, Kumbayah...
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blkjkrabbit

Registered: 07/22/07
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7486934 - 10/04/07 11:46 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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baby steps man baby steps. couldn't hurt to try and in any case if your right arm gets sawed off or something you can still fill out paperwork n shit 
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Drink_Punk_Soda
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: blkjkrabbit]
#7489266 - 10/05/07 05:07 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I finally found some information worth sharing. Check out this article: Changes of somatosensory evoked potentials during writing with the dominant and non-dominant hands.
If you don't feel like reading the entire summary, the basic point is this: There was no significant difference in the attenuation between the right-handed and left-handed subjects. The results indicated that the specific interaction between the signals after electrical stimulation and the sensory cortical activities related to the writing using the non-dominant hand occurred in both hemispheres, while it was recognized only in the hemisphere contralateral to the writing hand during the dominant hand writing. We speculate that the somatosensory cortex was more activated and thus interacted with the applied stimulation during the unskilled movement of the non-dominant hand compared to the movement of the dominant hand.
In a nutshell, the results of the test were approximately equal for both right and left hand dominant subjects. When they used their nondominant hand, BOTH hemispheres of the brain were active, whereas when they used their dominant hand, only the contralateral (opposite) hemisphere was active.
Since repetitive use of a neural pathway strengthens it, it would stand to reason that long term use of your nondominant hand would strengthen the pathways between both hemispheres.
I wonder if over time, as using your nondominant hand got easier, activity in the brain would shift to the opposite side? I guess working on the nondominant hand and then using both equally would maintain nearly equal use of the brain, at least as far as writing goes.
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Kumbayah my lord, Kumbayah...
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SampaJasli
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7489356 - 10/05/07 05:38 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I also did that same exercise in my high school art class there are many similar ones you can do too. I think I'm going to give non-dominant hand writing a try too!
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LucidDream
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7489373 - 10/05/07 05:48 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Drink_Punk_Soda said: How's this?

Haha.. I won't even pretend I drew that. Part of the reason I want to work on my right hemisphere is because although I am musically inclined, I've never been very artistically talented. I think it'd be difficult enough at this stage to simply trace that image, upside down or not. Then again I've only been actively using my left hand to write with for two days so far.
Damn, that's the pic. That's an exercise from a book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." It's a book that shows that everyone has artistic talent, and it's just a matter of training it. All that really matters is desire to learn.
That pic really brings back memories. Mine didn't look anywhere near that good. Although I was decent at drawing, I really fucked up that exercise. It looked pretty sad.
-------------------- Sarcasm just one of my many talents.
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hallucinajen
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7491487 - 10/06/07 01:46 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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All I know, is that I read something about increasing neuro-pathways in the brain by doing things like using the less dominant hand more often.....and.....
I used to favor one side of my brain.
I took 2 test recently, and they both say I have a balance brain. Tests years ago strongly favored my creative side.
The results indicate that I am able to pull information just as easily from both sides....And I "know" that this is from ambidextrous practice.
-------------------- I'd like the thank my brothers and sisters, for allowing me the freedom to ramble on.......ramble on..............................................
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Krystal Klear
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7491663 - 10/06/07 02:47 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Drink_Punk_Soda said: Hi all,
Man, I haven't been here in almost half a year. Someone revived an ooold thread and I got the email notice. 
Anyway, I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out. If this thread is better suited for the Mental and Physical forum, or the Science forum, please relocate it (thanks in advance Mods.. even though I haven't checked to see who's still around yet).
I have recently decided to teach myself to write with my non-dominant hand. I am a dominant right-hander, so I've been practicing with my left. I understand that generally speaking, your dominant hand is linked to the opposite brain hemisphere- so in my case, when I write, I'm using my left brain, so to speak. When I write with my left hand, I'm using my right brain.
It seems to be commonly accepted among those who support and encourage non-dominant hand development that using the opposite hand increases coordination between the brain cortices. That is to say, writing with my left hand would lead to the development of new neural pathways between my brain hemispheres, allowing information to access and be processed by areas where it previously wasn't. That sounds good to me, I'm all for building a stronger brain. The problem is, I can't seem to find any legitimate research that even approaches this topic.
Does anyone here know of any studies done to support this claim? My girlfriend, who is a graduate student in Speech Pathology and thus has studied the brain to some great extent, is of the opinion that "new pathways" stop being produced, or slow to the point of being insignificant, as one approaches 25 years old, after which point the "inactive" pathways become for all intents and purposes, useless. Basically she's telling me that learning to write lefty, while arguably a useful skill, won't help me think using my right brain to any greater extent. I have no reason to doubt her, but I'd like to think that isn't true.
So to summarize the question: Does anyone know of any research which discusses whether or not using one's non-dominant hand increases activity in the non-dominant brain hemisphere? I'd be really interested to read about it regardless of the conclusion.
Thanks in advance!
I am ambidextrous, and I tried doing that in jail one time because I wanted to benefit something from my incarceration. Its theree years later and I still wrtie like a four year old in both hands. As for your question I ahve no idea, thats very interesting and I would like to know myself.
-------------------- Nothing I say is meant to be taken seriously. -Krystal
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Locus



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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7491683 - 10/06/07 02:54 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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this is interesting. if i can motivate myself enough to practice this i might have a go at it
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The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ~ Albert Einstein "Fear is the great barrier to human growth." ~ Dr. Robert Monroe ~~~*Dosis sola facit venenum*~~~ *Check my profile to listen to my music*
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LuNaTiX
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Re: Writing with Non-Dominant Hand and Brain Pathways [Re: Drink_Punk_Soda]
#7491695 - 10/06/07 02:59 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I didn't know any of this when I went crazy, but when I did go crazy I used my left hand rather then my right hand to write and draw and started writing upside down and also right to left and I felt it was making a difference.
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