Previous studies have shown that the left hemisphere dominates motor function, often observed through homotopic activation measurements. Using a functional connectivity approach, this study investigated the lateralization of the sensorimotor cortex during handwriting and drawing, two complex visuomotor tasks with varying contextual demands. We found that both left- and right-lateralized connectivity in the primary motor cortex (M1), dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), somatosensory cortex, and visual regions were evident in adults (males and females), primarily in an interhemispheric integrative fashion. Critically, these lateralization tendencies remained highly invariant across task contexts, representing a task-invariant neural architecture for encoding fundamental motor programs consistently implemented in different task contexts. Additionally, the PMd exhibited a slight variation in lateralization degree between task contexts, reflecting the ability of the high-order motor system to adapt to varying task demands. However, connectivity-based lateralization of the sensorimotor cortex was not detected in 10-year-old children (males and females), suggesting that the maturation of connectivity-based lateralization requires prolonged development. In summary, this study demonstrates both task-invariant and task-sensitive connectivity lateralization in sensorimotor cortices that support the resilience and adaptability of skilled visuomotor performance. These findings align with the hierarchical organization of the motor system and underscore the significance of the functional connectivity-based approach in studying functional lateralization.

The mental flow that commonly emerges during immersion in artistic activities is beneficial for maintaining mental health. However, there is not that much converging neurobiological evidence about how flow emerges and elicits pleasure in arts. Using an imitation task of Chinese calligraphic handwriting with self-rated subjective flow experience, we investigated the neural interactions supporting flow. Our results show that calligraphic handwriting requires cooperation between widespread multimodal regions that span the visual and sensorimotor areas along the dorsal stream, the top-down attentional control system, and the orbito-affective network. We demonstrate that higher flow is characterized by an efficiently working brain that manifests as less activation particularly in the brain regions within dorsal attention network and functional connectivity between visual and sensorimotor networks in calligraphy. Furthermore, we also propose that pleasure during calligraphy writing arises from efficient cortical activity in the emergence of flow, and the orbito-caudate circuit responsible for feelings of affection. These findings provide new insight into the neuropsychological representations of flow through art, and highlight the potential benefits of artistic activities to boost well-being and prosperity.

While reaching and grasping are highly prevalent manual actions, neuroimaging studies provide evidence that their neural representations may be shared between different body parts, i.e., effectors. If these actions are guided by effector-independent mechanisms, similar kinematics should be observed when the action is performed by the hand or by a cortically remote and less experienced effector, such as the foot. We tested this hypothesis with two characteristic components of action: the initial ballistic stage of reaching, and the preshaping of the digits during grasping based on object size. We examined if these kinematic features reflect effector-independent mechanisms by asking participants to reach toward and to grasp objects of different widths with their hand and foot. First, during both reaching and grasping, the velocity profile up to peak velocity matched between the hand and the foot, indicating a shared ballistic acceleration phase. Second, maximum grip aperture and time of maximum grip aperture of grasping increased with object size for both effectors, indicating encoding of object size during transport. Differences between the hand and foot were found in the deceleration phase and time of maximum grip aperture, likely due to biomechanical differences and the participants\' inexperience with foot actions. These findings provide evidence for effector-independent visuomotor mechanisms of reaching and grasping that generalize across body parts.