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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1977

The effects of methylphenidate on the handwriting of children with minimal brain dysfunction.

Fifty children with minimal brain dysfunction who had handwriting deficits received methylphenidate or placebo under double-blind conditions. Twenty-six children (52%) showed improvement in hand-writing following treatment with methylphenidate for four weeks. One child receiving placebo had improvement in handwriting, but his handwriting improved further after he was switched to methylphenidate. In general, handwriting tended to deteriorate promptly when drug treatment was discontinued. Thirty-six patients (72%) receiving methylphenidate for four weeks were rated behaviorally improved by teachers; in contrast, seven children (14%) showed behavioral improvement following treatment with placebo. Improvement in attention and behavior, which was ascertained by the use of Conners' Abbreviated Teacher Rating Scale, did not always correspond with improvement in handwriting. Advances in handwriting skills following treatment with methylphenidate may have been directly related to improvement in fine motor coordination. Gains in handwriting were maintained for up to 26 months of follow-up in 21 children who received methylphenidate on a long-term basis.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

PubMed1975

Drug-induced handwriting changes: an empirical review.

Since handwriting is a highly complex, coordinated motor activity, handwrits of pharmacological agents. Its potential has been most evident in research involving therapeutic administrations of anti-psychotic an anti-Parkinsonian drugs, from which consistent and systematic handwriting changes have been observed. This relationship has been found to be particularly significant among the anti-psychotics, since the onset of these graphomotor alterations appear to mark the optmal dose of the drug. Consistent and systematic handwriting changes have not been as evident in inivestigations of drugs used in a nontherapeutic atmosphere. Psychiatric assessments of subjects in ths type of research provided data which indicated that psychological stability may be a factor influencing the susceptibility of one's handwriting to drug induced changes.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Effects of relaxation training on cursive handwriting of fourth grade students.

A relaxation method of handwriting improvement was examined. The experimental and no-treatment control groups were composed of 10 students receiving a poor rating on handwriting characteristics and the normal control group of 10 was composed of students receiving average ratings. All three groups received nine trials of writing. Only the experimental group received relaxation training during each trial. The handwriting of the experimental group improved significantly while that of the no-treatment control group remained the same. Although the handwriting of the normal control group also improved significantly, at posttest they were no longer significantly different from the experimental group.

Child↗

PubMed1992

Handwriting and perceptual-motor skills in clumsy, dysgraphic, and 'normal' children.

Among various perceptual-motor tests, only visuomotor integration was significant in predicting accuracy of handwriting performance for the total sample of 59 children consisting of 19 clumsy children, 22 nonclumsy dysgraphic children, and 18 'normal' children. They were selected from a sample of 360 fourth-graders (10-yr.-olds). For groups of clumsy and 'normal' children, the prediction of handwriting performance is difficult. However, correlations among scores on 6 measures showed that handwriting was significantly related to visuomotor integration, visual form perception, and tracing in the total group and to visuomotor integration and visual form perception in the clumsy group. The weakest correlations occurred between tests measuring simple psychomotor functions and handwriting. Moreover, clumsy children were expected to do poorly on tests measuring aiming, tracing, and visuomotor integration, but not on tests measuring visual form perception and finger tapping. Dysgraphic children were expected to do poorly on visuomotor integration only.

Child↗

PubMed1977

Handwriting characteristics and their relationship to Eysenck's extraversion-introversion and Kagan's impulsivity-reflectivity dimensions.

Examined the relationship between certain handwriting characteristics and Eysenck's Extraversion-Introversion and Kagan's Impulsivity-Reflectivity personality dimensions. Using 46 female subjects, scores on the EPQ inventory and Matching Familiar Figures test were compared by factor analysis to the handwriting characteristics of: middle zone height; middle zone breadth; upper zone height; lower zone height; space between words; right margin breadth; left margin breadth; a general size measure; handwriting time; paragraph indention; slant. The factor analysis revealed three distinct writing styles: one related to Extraversion; another related to Introversion; and a final one related to Reflectivity. These findings were discussed in relation to statements made by graphologists. Also, the significance of trait-sign and factor analysis in comparison with other methods of graphoanalysis was discussed.

Cognition↗

PubMed1979

Treatment of handwriting problems utilizing EMG biofeedback training.

The effects of EMG biofeedback training on cursive handwriting were investigated for 4 girls and 5 boys in Grade 4. A significant reduction in EMG between the first baseline session and the last training session was obtained. Four of 5 characteristics of handwriting improved significantly. The need for carefully designed research comparing EMG biofeedback training and relaxation training was indicated. A self-control factor in handwriting was hypothesized.

Biofeedback, Psychology↗

PubMed1976

The facts on the legibility of doctors' handwriting.

A large number of people, both doctors and others, were tested. The handwriting of each participant was graded and four different statistical tests were performed on the results. In all of these tests the doctors' handwriting came out significantly worse. Thus the only conclusion which could be established from these results was that doctors' handwriting is indeed less legible than others.

Handwriting↗

PubMed1979

The effects of marijuana and alcohol usage on handwriting.

In this study the handwriting of twelve individuals under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, and a combination of the two was compared with control samples. It was found that marijuana smoking in moderate amounts had less effect on the handwriting of the individuals than did alcohol. It was also found that when the two were combined the gross changes observed were probably due to the effect of the alcohol alone.

Cannabis↗

PubMed1992

The role of vision in the temporal and spatial control of handwriting.

The general observation that handwriting is not noticeably impaired by the withdrawal of vision can be explained in two ways. One might argue that vision is not needed during the act of writing. Micro-analyses should then reveal that spatial as well as temporal writing features are identical in conditions of vision and no vision. Alternatively, it is possible that vision is needed during the act of writing, but that without vision possible errors and inaccuracies have to be prevented. Assuming that the latter would place an extra demand on movement control, this should be revealed by an increase in processing time. We have found evidence for the latter view in the present study in which 12 subjects wrote a nonsense letter sequence with and without vision. Close examination showed that writing shapes remained equally invariant under both vision conditions, suggesting that spatial control was unaffected by withdrawing vision. The prediction that invariance of shapes is preserved in the absence of vision at the expense of processing time increments was confirmed. The increase of reaction time observed when visual guidance was withdrawn suggests that more processing time was needed prior to the movement start. Moreover, the RT increment was larger when a short writing duration was instructed. The present findings will be discussed in light of the remarkable flexibility of writing as a motor skill in which writers appear to be able to employ specific strategies to preserve shape in the absence of visual guidance.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Some neurological observations on Leonardo da Vinci's handwriting.

The present study concerns neuropsychological aspects of the handwriting of Leonardo da Vinci. The evidence for Leonardo's left handedness is considered, and a critical appraisal of his mirror writing and its underlying mechanism is presented. The relationship between Leonardo's sinistrality, mirror writing and certain aspects of localisation of cerebral function are discussed. From these considerations and from new evidence obtained from contemporary historical sources, it is proposed that Leonardo's language skills were lateralised to the more unusual right hemisphere.

Art↗

PubMed1992

Handwriting and spelling: dyslexic children's abilities compared with children of the same chronological age and younger children of the same spelling level.

Handwriting speed and spelling were examined in a group of 10-year-old dyslexic children compared with children of the same age and with younger children of the same spelling level. The children wrote lists of words onto a digitizer pad in three different condition: a dictation, copying from a sheet on the desk and copying from a wall chart. The words ranged in complexity from simple monosyllabic phoneme to grapheme words to words needing orthographic and morphological information and non-words. There were differences in writing speed between the 10-year-olds and 8-year-olds in most conditions. There were no significant differences in speed of writing or pausing between the dyslexic children and the 10-year-olds. There was a difference in the number of errors in the spelling of non-words, the dyslexic children being inferior to both the other groups. The only difference between the dyslexic children and the 8-year-olds was in speed of writing in copying from the desk and in writing complex words. The performance of the dyslexic group was more similar to that of the 8-year-olds in the dictation but to the 10-year-olds in the copying conditions. Independent judges had no difficulty in identifying the 10-year-olds' writing but confused that of the 8-year-olds with the dyslexic children's. It is proposed that the dyslexic children had automatised movement patterns linked to spelling equivalent to their same age peers but that these patterns were built on accumulated inaccuracies in both letter formation and spelling.

Achievement↗

PubMed1979

Pipotiazine pharmacokinetics after p.o. and i.v. administration in man. Correlation between blood levels and effect on the handwriting area.

Plasma kinetics of pipotiazine, a phenothiazine neuroleptic, have been studied in five chronic schizophrenic patients after both oral (25 mg) and i.v. (5 mg) administration of pipotiazine tritiated in the 3- and 4-positions of the piperidine ring. Peak plasma concentrations of unchanged pipotiazine were reached between 1 and 2 h after oral administration and showed a five-fold inter-individual variation. The mean terminal elimination half-life was 11.2 h. After i.v. administration plasma concentration declined bi-exponentially with mean half-life values of 2.7 and 8.8 h. Data indicate that biotranformation of the drug was not dependent on the route of administration and that there were no qualitative differences in biotransformation between individuals. The large apparent distribution volumes (mean value 545 l) indicated extensive binding to tissue components. After 25 mg p.o. effect on the handwriting area was manifest from 8 to 48 h after administration and reached maximum intensity between 24 and 36 h. This is consistent with rather a large duration of action observed clinically.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1992

The handwriting on the wall. Warning signs of impending job loss.

Can nurse executives read the handwriting on the wall when they or another nurse executive are facing a forced resignation or termination? What are the warning signs of an eroding job position, including the relationship between the chief nurse executive and the chief executive officer? How much time does a nurse executive typically have in the job once the warning signs begin to show? The authors discuss these questions and specific tactics and strategies suggested by warning signs.

Decision Making, Organizational↗

PubMed1979