Bimanual coordination associated with left- and right-hand dominance: testing the limb assignment and limb dominance hypothesis

Christina Pfeifer,Deanna Kennedy,Stefan Panzer,Peter Leinen,Charles Shea

doi:10.1007/s00221-021-06082-z

Christina Pfeifer, Deanna Kennedy + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06082-z

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Abstract

In an experiment conducted by Kennedy et al. (Exp Brain Res 233:181–195, 2016), dominant right-handed individuals were required to produce a rhythm of isometric forces in a 2:1 or 1:2 bimanual coordination pattern. In the 2:1 pattern, the left limb performed the faster rhythm, while in the 1:2 pattern, the right limb produced the faster pattern. In the 1:2 pattern, interference occurred in the limb which had to produce the slower rhythm of forces. However, in the 2:1 condition, interference occurred in both limbs. The conclusion was that interference was not only influenced by movement frequency, but also influenced by limb dominance. The present experiment was designed to replicate these findings in dynamic bimanual 1:2 and 2:1 tasks where performers had to move one wrist faster than the other, and to determine the influence of limb dominance. Dominant left-handed (N = 10; LQ = − 89.81) and dominant right-handed (N = 14; LQ = 91.25) participants were required to perform a 2:1 and a 1:2 coordination pattern using Lissajous feedback. The harmonicity value was calculated to quantify the interference in the trial-time series. The analysis demonstrated that regardless of limb dominance, harmonicity was always lower in the slower moving limb than in the faster moving limb. The present results indicated that for dominant left- and dominant right-handers the faster moving limb influenced the slower moving limb. This is in accordance with the assumption that movement frequency has a higher impact on limb control in bimanual 2:1 and 1:2 coordination tasks than handedness.

Highlights

In bimanual coordination, two limbs perform simultaneously as a synergy
This phenomenon in bimanual coordination is characterized as performance asymmetry
In the years following Welch’s work, researchers in motor control and learning began systematically studying the roles of the two limbs in bimanual coordination in the form of coupling strength and the influence between limbs and performance asymmetries in a variety of bimanual movement coordination tasks (Carson 1989; Haken et al 1985; Kelso et al 1979; de Poel et al 2007; Shea et al 2016 for a review)

Summary

Introduction

Two limbs perform simultaneously as a synergy. In some situations, the two limbs mutually interact in a way that impedes the individuals’ ability to effectively achieve the goal coordinated bimanual behavior. Other researchers hypothesized that performance asymmetry was a result of limb assignment They propose that the faster moving limb has a significant impact on the accuracy and the variability of the slower moving limb (Kennedy et al 2016; Peper et al 1995a, b; de Poel et al 2008; Summers et al 2002). Another theoretical perspective argues that the asymmetry in performing multi-frequency bimanual movements is due to neural cross-talk (Swinnen 2002; Swinnen and Wenderoth 2004). Some research indicated that left limb-dominant individuals do not typically share the same coordination biases as dominant right-handers (Swinnen et al 1996)

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