Cerebral dominance and asynchrony between bimanual two-dimensional movements

J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1993 Dec;19(6):1200-20. doi: 10.1037//0096-1523.19.6.1200.

Abstract

The asynchrony of bimanual movements was investigated. Right- and left-handers traced simple geometrical patterns (ellipses) continuously with both hands. All combinations of the direction of rotation in each hand were executed at different rhythms. Geometrically, performances were largely independent of manual dominance. However, by comparing the passage times at homologous positions, the authors found that the dominant hand led the nondominant one by about 25 ms. The asynchrony was affected by neither movement type nor rhythm. The variability of the asynchrony varied along the trajectory, with well-defined maxima and minima. The variability profiles for movements that engaged homologous muscles differed markedly from those that engaged nonhomologous muscles. The authors discuss the hypothesis that bimanual periodic movements are timed by a lateralized functional module and asynchrony is due to the necessity of transmitting time-keeping information to the other hemisphere.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Dominance, Cerebral*
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Movement*
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Time Factors