2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Effectiveness of Handwriting Behavior and Brain Mechanisms for Learning in Acquired Visual Disabilities

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	26381350
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Special needs education
Research Institution	National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities
Principal Investigator	Itou Kazuyuki 国立障害者リハビリテーションセンター(研究所), 自立支援局(併任研究所), 主任教官 (10501091)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	加藤麦国立障害者リハビリテーションセンター(研究所), 自立支援局(併任研究所), 教官 (30574488) 中村仁洋筑波大学, 人間系, 研究員 (40359633) 池田和久国立障害者リハビリテーションセンター(研究所), 自立支援局(併任研究所), 教官 (60728153) 幕内充国立障害者リハビリテーションセンター(研究所), 研究所脳機能系障害研究部, 研究室長 (70334232)
Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha)	MIZUOCHI Tomomi 国立障害者リハビリテーションセンター, 研究所脳機能系障害研究部, 流動研究員 (90568859) IWABUCHI Toshiki 浜松医科大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 特任助教 (20711518)
Project Period (FY)	2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
Keywords	視覚障害 / 手書き / 学習 / 脳機能画像
Outline of Final Research Achievements	We performed experiments and fMRI imaging to memorize new foreign language learning tasks in handwritten or non-handwritten state. Subjects are visually impaired. As a result, we got suggestion that learning to listen is effective in short-term memory, and that combined use with handwriting is effective in long-term memory. Compared to the sighted control participants, visually impaired participants showed strong neural activity in broad brain areas including the bilateral motor cortex, which extended from frontoparietal to occipital regions in both hemispheres. Especially, the left visual cortex surrounding the precuneus showed greater neural response in the “handwriting condition” as compared to the “no-handwriting condition”. These findings suggest that handwriting actions enhance long-term memory in people with severe visual disabilities, whereas this facilitation of learning relies on the neural activation in visual association cortex involved in visual mental imagery.
Free Research Field	視覚障害リハビリテーション