pisco_log
banner

The Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Chinese Calligraphy Writing: A Review of Psychophysiological and Neuroimaging Evidence

Kairui Xue, Yuejia Sun, Meilin Wang, Mingyue Liu, Yisong Yang*

Abstract


Chinese calligraphy is usually approached as an art form. Yet the person holding the brush is also solving a difficult cognitive problem: the character must be recognized, held in mind, and produced through coordinated control of route, pressure, and speed. In this review,
we bring together evidence from psychophysiology, event-related potentials (ERP), neuroimaging, and clinical intervention studies to ask
three questions. Do seal, clerical, regular, running, and cursive scripts make different demands on attention, spatial processing, and motor control? Can emotional content change the neural response during writing? And how strong is the evidence for using calligraphy in rehabilitation
and mental-health care? The available studies support a broad Conclusion: brush writing engages motor planning, spatial cognition, memory,
and affective evaluation at the same time. They also describe continued cognitive activation alongside peripheral physiological slowing. What
remains missing is a decisive script-by-script comparison with adequate control of speed, familiarity, and task design. Clinical findings for
attention, working memory, anxiety, and depression are promising but require larger, better-controlled trials. ERP work comparing the five
scripts under matched conditions would be a particularly direct test of psychogeometric predictions.

Keywords


Chinese calligraphy; Cognitive neuroscience; ERP; Emotion regulation; Cognitive rehabilitation

Full Text:

PDF

Included Database


References


[1] Chan, S. C. C., Chan, C. C. H., Derbie, A. Y., Hui, I., Tan, D. G. H., Pang, M. Y. C., Lau, S. C. L., & Fong, K. N. K. (2017). Chinese

calligraphy writing for augmenting attentional control and working memory of older adults at risk of mild cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 58(3), 735–746. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-170024

[2] Chen, Z., Cheung, R. Y. M., & Kao, H. S. R. (2002). The effects of brush writing on cognitive function in elderly. Chinese Journal of

Behavioral Medical Science, 11(6), 620–621.

[3] Chu, K. Y., Huang, C. Y., & Ouyang, W. C. (2018). Does Chinese calligraphy therapy reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms: A systematic

review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 62. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1611-4

[4] Hajcak, G., Weinberg, A., MacNamara, A., & Foti, D. (2012). The late positive potential. In S. J. Luck & E. S. Kappenman (Eds.), The

Oxford handbook of event-related potential components (pp. 187–207). Oxford University Press.

[5] He, M., Zhang, W., Shahid, H., Liu, Y., Liang, X., Duan, Y., Wang, H., & He, X. (2021). The impact of motor imageries on aesthetic

judgment of Chinese calligraphy: An fMRI study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15, Article 739508. https://doi.org/10.3389/

fnhum.2021.739508

[6] Kao, H. S. R. (1986). Psychology of Chinese calligraphy. Taipei: Dongda Book Company.

[7] Kao, H. S. R. (2010). Calligraphy therapy: A complementary approach to psychotherapy. Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1(1), 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507680903570334

[8] Kao, H. S. R., Huang, X. T., & Wang, Z. Y. (2000). Effects of calligraphy experience on mental health and attention. In H. S. R. Kao (Ed.),

Calligraphy psychotherapy (pp. 193–209). Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong Press.

[9] Kao, H. S. R., et al. (2014). Calligraphy and meditation for stress reduction: An experimental comparison. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 7, 47–52. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S55743

[10] Kwok, T. C., Bai, X., Kao, H. S., Li, J. C., & Ho, F. K. (2011). Cognitive effects of calligraphy therapy for older people: A randomized

controlled trial in Hong Kong. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 6, 269–273.

[11] Xu, M., Kao, H. S. R., Zhang, M., Lam, S. P. W., & Wang, W. (2013). Cognitive-neural effects of brush writing of Chinese characters:

Cortical excitation of theta rhythm. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, Article 975190.

[12] Olofsson, J. K., Nordin, S., Sequeira, H., & Polich, J. (2008). Affective picture processing: An integrative review of ERP findings. Biological Psychology, 77(3), 247–265.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.11.004

[13] Planton, S., Jucla, M., Roux, F. E., & Démonet, J. F. (2013). The "handwriting brain": A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies of motor

versus orthographic processes. Cortex, 49(10), 2772–2787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2013.05.011

[14] Qi, Y., Zhu, X., Xiong, X., Yang, X., Ding, N., Wu, H., Xu, K., Zhu, J., Zhang, J., & Wang, Y. (2024). Human motor cortex encodes

complex handwriting through a sequence of primitive neural states. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.05.578548

[15] Wang, X., Lu, J., & Chen, W. (2019). Emotional word processing and its emotional effect characteristics: Evidence from ERP. Advances

in Psychological Science, 27(11), 1842–1852.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/wef.v4i5.10134

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.