Chapters authored
Brain Reorganization in Late Adulthood: Rapid Left-to-Right Switch of Handedness Through Memory-Drawing Training
The neural correlates of hand preference are still debatable, and the very few studies on the mechanisms of enforced change of handedness from left to right are all restricted to early childhood. We were able to address the question of retraining handedness in late adulthood for the first time, well outside the accepted critical period for brain plasticity, through a unique training utilizing the complex motor task of blind memory-guided drawing, in a totally blind, congenitally left-handed man. Ten hours of this Cognitive-Kinesthetic Drawing Training, which the author initially developed to drive neuroplasticity in blindness rehabilitation, was sufficient to generate a profound switch in the cortical lateralization of motor control. This study provides new insights into the neuroplasticity of motor control architecture. The results are of high relevance to the long-standing debate about the sources of hemispheric asymmetry. The unprecedented effect on handedness of the rapid Cognitive-Kinesthetic Drawing Training implies a powerful potential of this training for further rehabilitation domains, such as the rehabilitation of stroke or trauma affecting hand control.
Part of the book: Neuroplasticity