Force coordination in static bimanual manipulation: effect of handedness

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of handedness on coordination of grip (G) and load (L) forces in static bimanual manipulation tasks. Participants (N = 10) exerted various L profiles against an externally fixed hand-held device based on presumably open-loop and closed-loop neural control mechanisms, (i.e., mediated and not mediated, respectively, by sensory feedback). Average G/L ratio and the coupling of G and L (i.e., stability of the G/L ratio and correlation between G and L) were separately assessed in each hand. The results revealed a lower average G/L ratio in the non-dominant hand suggesting a more economical grip, while the indices of G and L coupling were similar in two hands. The dominant and non-dominant hand failed to reveal relative advantages in the tasks predominantly based on open- and closed-loop control mechanisms, respectively. We conclude that, due to the static nature of the tested tasks, the particular advantage of the non-dominant hand in G and L coordination could be in line with the recently proposed specialization of the non-dominant limb for control of position. However, the overall results are not in line with classic views of the prevailing open- closed-loop neural mechanisms in the control of the dominant and nondominant limb, respectively.