Benjamin Philip
@benjaminphilip.bsky.social
Neuroimaging, neurorehabilitation, and handedness. Visiting Research Fellow @ Mayo; soon-to-be-former Asst Prof @ WashU & PI of Lateralization, Movement, & Plasticity lab.
And science fiction writer, but you’ll find that elsewhere under my pen name.
And science fiction writer, but you’ll find that elsewhere under my pen name.
Want even MORE science details? Read our preprint here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neural mechanisms of handedness for precision drawing: hand-dependent engagement of cortical networks for bimanual control and tool use
The neural mechanisms of handedness remain poorly understood, particularly for lateralized movements such as precision drawing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined how heal...
www.biorxiv.org
November 19, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Want even MORE science details? Read our preprint here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Want to see the full science details? Here's our main results: the full spread of fMRI differences between left & right hand drawing. Lines = functional connectivity, arrows = signal magnitude. Positive values are stronger activity/connectivity for left hand.
November 19, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Want to see the full science details? Here's our main results: the full spread of fMRI differences between left & right hand drawing. Lines = functional connectivity, arrows = signal magnitude. Positive values are stronger activity/connectivity for left hand.
We checked these systems in healthy adults and patients with chronic nerve injuries to their dominant hand – and found no differences between groups.
So: if you need to rely more on your non-dominant hand after injury, you do it by drawing on preexisting brain mechanisms.
So: if you need to rely more on your non-dominant hand after injury, you do it by drawing on preexisting brain mechanisms.
November 19, 2025 at 4:52 PM
We checked these systems in healthy adults and patients with chronic nerve injuries to their dominant hand – and found no differences between groups.
So: if you need to rely more on your non-dominant hand after injury, you do it by drawing on preexisting brain mechanisms.
So: if you need to rely more on your non-dominant hand after injury, you do it by drawing on preexisting brain mechanisms.
Importantly, these systems are *more* active & connected for one hand than the other, not *only* for one hand. This is all spelled out properly in the preprint (linked at end of thread).
Also important: This describes righties only. Sorry, lefties! (I'm a lefty. Sorry, me.)
Also important: This describes righties only. Sorry, lefties! (I'm a lefty. Sorry, me.)
November 19, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Importantly, these systems are *more* active & connected for one hand than the other, not *only* for one hand. This is all spelled out properly in the preprint (linked at end of thread).
Also important: This describes righties only. Sorry, lefties! (I'm a lefty. Sorry, me.)
Also important: This describes righties only. Sorry, lefties! (I'm a lefty. Sorry, me.)
Poster number 077.20 on Saturday morning! It's how to find the poster at the @sfn.org conference starting today :) For folks at home I could dig up links to the woks, but not today while I'm in transit!
November 15, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Poster number 077.20 on Saturday morning! It's how to find the poster at the @sfn.org conference starting today :) For folks at home I could dig up links to the woks, but not today while I'm in transit!
I'm always interested in exploring themes of alternative minds - including the alien and artificial, but also the changes that we might choose to embrace (or reject) as neurotechnology advances in the coming decades.
April 23, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I'm always interested in exploring themes of alternative minds - including the alien and artificial, but also the changes that we might choose to embrace (or reject) as neurotechnology advances in the coming decades.