Hemispheric differences in image generation and use in the haptic modality

Forty adults and 40 children, all right-handed, were presented with either of two series of six nonsense shapes to palpate: Those who were divided into sections by grid lines and thus provided categorical information or those who provided a whole shape and coordinate information that could be processed globally. Subjects were given an Input condition where they formed a mental representation of the shape while palpating the unseen tactual stimulus with either hand, followed by an Evaluation condition in which they attempted to solve the task by generating and using the previously stored image. Evaluation response times showed that the left hemisphere was significantly faster at generating images from categorically stored information. Neither hemisphere had an advantage when generating an image from globally stored information.