Interhemispheric Transfer of Spatial Tactile Information in Callosal Agenesis and Partial Commissurotomy

Abstract

The De Renzi Rod Test was used to investigate the transfer of spatial tactile information between hands in acallosals and partial commissurotomy patients. The righthanded performance of young acallosals was impaired, confirming the results of an earlier study by Meerwaldt (1983). The adult acallosals, with one exception, showed no difference between right and left hand performances. Two partial callosotomy patients with sparing of the most caudal parts of the body of the callosum showed no difference between the hands. A third callosotomy patient with little, if any, sparing of the most caudal part of the body of the callosum showed a marked impairment when performing the tactile task withthe right hand. The unimpaired performances of the adult acallosals are attributed to the use of ipsilateral pathways and the development of behavioural strategies. The callosotomy patients' results are consistent with the mapping by Pandya and Seltzer (1986) of the interhemispheric callosal pathways between the cortical parietal areas in non-human primates.