Hand asymmetries in interresponse intervals during rapid repetitive finger tapping

Area of Science:

• Motor control
• Human motor performance
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The preferred hand typically exhibits faster tapping speeds.
• Previous studies suggested this difference might be due to occasional long intervals from the non-preferred hand.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the underlying mechanism for the shorter mean interresponse interval (IRI) observed in preferred-hand tapping.
• To determine if the shorter mean IRI is due to consistent faster production or sporadic long intervals from the non-preferred hand.

Main Methods:

• Eight right-handed male subjects performed key-tapping tasks.
• Interresponse intervals (IRIs) were recorded for each hand during 10-second runs.
• Frequency distributions of IRIs were analyzed for both preferred and non-preferred hands.

Main Results:

• Frequency distributions revealed that the preferred hand systematically produced shorter IRIs.
• The mean IRI for the preferred hand was consistently shorter than the non-preferred hand.
• The difference was not caused by sporadic long IRIs from the non-preferred hand.

Conclusions:

• The shorter mean IRI for preferred-hand tapping is a direct result of consistently faster key-pressing by the preferred hand.
• This study clarifies the motor control mechanisms underlying hand preference in tapping tasks.