title: Long-Term Experience of Chinese Calligraphic Handwriting Is Associated with Better Executive Functions and Stronger Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Related Brain Regions.
abstract: Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) is a traditional art form that requires high levels of concentration and motor control. Previous research has linked short-term training in CCH to improvements in attention and memory. Little is known about the potential impacts of long-term CCH practice on a broader array of executive functions and their potential neural substrates. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 36 practitioners with at least 5 years of CCH experience and 50 control subjects with no more than one month of CCH practice and investigated their differences in the three components of executive functions (i.e., shifting, updating, and inhibition). Valid resting-state fMRI data were collected from 31 CCH and 40 control participants. Compared with the controls, CCH individuals showed better updating (as measured by the Corsi Block Test) and inhibition (as measured by the Stroop Word-Color Test), but the two groups did not differ in shifting (as measured by a cue-target task). The CCH group showed stronger resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) than the control group in brain areas involved in updating and inhibition. These results suggested that long-term CCH training may be associated with improvements in specific aspects of executive functions and strengthened neural networks in related brain regions.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.|Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7563-4495
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.|IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Cuiping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Chuansheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of International Journalism and Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China.|School of Arts and Media, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Suyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Conservation Department, National Palace Museum, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Arts and Media, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.|IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult