Acquisition of chopstick-operation skills with the non-dominant hand and concomitant changes in brain activity

Daisuke Sawamura,Satoshi Sakuraba,Susumu Yoshida,Toshihiro Honke,Shinya Sakai,Yoshitaka Horimoto,Kazuki Yoshida,Yoshiaki Iwase,Megumi Kimura,Masako Asano,Yumi Suzuki

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56956-0

Abstract

Despite their common use as eating utensils in East Asia, chopsticks require complex fine motor-skills for adequate operation and are thus most frequently used with the dominant hand; however, the effect of training time on the proficiency of using chopsticks with the non-dominant hand, as well as the brain activity underlying changes in skill, remain unclear. This study characterised the effect of time spent training in chopstick operation with the non-dominant hand on chopstick-use proficiency and the related brain activity to obtain data that may help individuals who are obliged to change handedness due to neurological disease to learn to use their non-dominant hand in performing daily activities. Thirty-two healthy right-handed students were randomly allocated to training (n = 16) or control (n = 16) groups; the former received 6 weeks of training in chopstick use with their non-dominant (left) hand, and the latter received none. After training, significant improvements in the execution speed and smoothness of upper extremity joints were observed in the training group. Moreover, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity significantly decreased, and bilateral premotor cortex activity significantly increased across training. These results indicated that 6 weeks of chopstick training with the non-dominant hand effectively improved chopstick operation.

Highlights

Despite their common use as eating utensils in East Asia, chopsticks require complex fine motor-skills for adequate operation and are most frequently used with the dominant hand; the effect of training time on the proficiency of using chopsticks with the non-dominant hand, as well as the brain activity underlying changes in skill, remain unclear
This single-blinded, randomised study explored the effects of training in the use of chopsticks – a practical skill that is often used in daily life – with the non-dominant hand on the speed and smoothness with which chopsticks are used, as well as on brain activity underlying the improvement of proficiency in chopstick operation
Rigor is required to relearn chopstick use with the non-dominant hand, this study revealed the effect of training time on improving chopstick use with the non-dominant hand and documented concomitant changes in brain activity; this had not been reported previously

Summary

Introduction

Despite their common use as eating utensils in East Asia, chopsticks require complex fine motor-skills for adequate operation and are most frequently used with the dominant hand; the effect of training time on the proficiency of using chopsticks with the non-dominant hand, as well as the brain activity underlying changes in skill, remain unclear. Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity significantly decreased, and bilateral premotor cortex activity significantly increased across training These results indicated that 6 weeks of chopstick training with the nondominant hand effectively improved chopstick operation. As about 80% of humans are right-handed and 45–50% of strokes occur in the left hemisphere[3,4], many stroke survivors are obliged to change handedness; this represents a compensatory strategy to execute daily skills specific to the dominant hand (e.g., writing and eating meals). To achieve this goal, patients must perform repetitive motor-learning exercises with their non-dominant hand. These results suggest that regional activities shifted from cortical areas related to intentional or endogenous attention to those associated with motor programming and the regulation of motor output[15]

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Conclusion