Developmental changes in brain activation and functional connectivity during Chinese handwriting

Abstract

Handwriting is a fundamental linguistic and motor skill that significantly contributes to cognitive development, effective communication, and academic success. However, how brain systems develop to support handwriting remains unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study examined the differences in regional activation and functional network connectivity during Chinese handwriting between 52 children (9-13 years old) and 40 young adults. We found that, compared to adults, children exhibited lower activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left precentral gyrus, and right posterior occipital cortex, possibly reflecting variations in functional specialization of handwriting-related circuits. In contrast, network analysis showed that children had greater global and local efficiency of the whole-brain networks than adults, particularly in the default mode network and visual network, possibly reflecting a large-scale reconfiguration of brain networks during handwriting automatization. These observed differences suggest that the brain systems supporting handwriting are still being established from middle childhood to young adulthood, underpinned by focal functional specialization and reconfiguration of functional networks. These findings provide new insights into the neurodevelopment of skills that integrate linguistic and motor processes, and expand our understanding of brain functional plasticity.

Keywords: Brain activation; Functional networks; Handwriting; Neurodevelopment; fMRI.