Related Experiment Videos
Manual asymmetries in visually primed grasping.
Lari Vainio1, Rob Ellis, Mike Tucker
1School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, England. lari.vainio@plymouth.ac.uk
Experimental Brain Research
|February 21, 2006
Summary
The size of novel objects influences grip responses, showing a right-hand bias for precision grips and a left-hand bias for power grips. This manual asymmetry suggests hemispheric specialization for different grip types.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Human Factors
Background:
- Task-irrelevant object size typically influences compatible grip responses.
- Previous studies focused on familiar objects, leaving the effect of novel object size unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the size of novel objects affects compatible precision and power grips.
- To determine if visually primed grips exhibit manual asymmetry.
- To explore hemispheric specialization in grip-type compatibility.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Assessed grip compatibility with novel object size, varying hand dominance.
- Experiment 2: Replicated findings using simple left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) button presses.
- Utilized visual priming of object size and grip type.
Main Results:
- Novel object size facilitated compatible grips, but only with specific hand-grip pairings (RH-precision, LH-power).
- Manual asymmetry was observed: RH preferred precision grips, LH preferred power grips.
- Hemispheric specialization was suggested by the hand-specific compatibility effects.
Conclusions:
- The size of novel objects influences grip selection in a manner consistent with manual asymmetry.
- Hemispheres appear specialized for processing precision-compatible and power-compatible stimuli.
- This specialization extends beyond actual grasping to simple motor responses.