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Asymmetrical transfer of braille acquisition between hands
1Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Brain and Language
|August 1, 1990
Summary
Sighted individuals show asymmetrical transfer when learning braille letters by touch, with right-handers performing poorly when training the non-dominant hand. Handwriting posture may influence hemispheric connectivity in left-handers.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Sensory Perception
Background:
- Tactual recognition of braille letters is typically associated with right hemisphere specialization.
- Understanding intermanual transfer in braille learning is crucial for educational strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate asymmetrical transfer of tactual braille letter recognition in sighted individuals.
- To examine the influence of handedness and handwriting posture on intermanual transfer.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted involving sighted participants (right-handers and left-handers).
- Participants learned to recognize individual braille letters using tactual input.
- Training and testing involved both dominant and non-dominant hands to assess transfer.
Main Results:
- Right-handed subjects demonstrated poor training transfer from the right to the left hand.
- Left-handers writing in an "inverted" posture showed similar poor transfer.
- Left-handers writing in a "noninverted" posture exhibited no transfer disadvantage.
Conclusions:
- Hemispheric specialization influences the direction and degree of tactual braille recognition transfer.
- Handwriting posture in left-handers may serve as an indicator of interhemispheric functional connectivity.