Abstract
Aiming movements made to visual targets on the same side of the body as the reaching hand typically show advantages as compared to aiming movements made to targets on the opposite side of the body midline in the contralateral visual field. These advantages for ipsilateral reaches include shorter reaction time, higher peak velocity, shorter duration and greater endpoint accuracy. It is commonly hypothesized that such advantages are related to the efficiency of intrahemispheric processing, since, for example, a left-sided target would be initially processed in the visual cortex of the right hemisphere and that same hemisphere controls the motor output to the left hand. We tested this hypothesis by examining the kinematics of aiming movements made by 26 right-handed subjects to visual targets briefly presented in either the left or the right visual field. In one block of trials, the subjects aimed their finger directly towards the target; in the other block, subjects were required to aim their movement to the mirror symmetrical position on the opposite side of the fixation light from the target. For the three kinematic measures in which hemispatial differences were obtained (peak velocity, duration and percentage of movement time spent in deceleration), the advantages were related to the side to which the motor response was directed and not to the side where the target was presented. In addition, these effects tended to be larger in the right hand than in the left, particularly for the percentage of the movement time spent in deceleration. The results are interpreted in terms of models of biomechanical constraints on contralateral movements, which are independent of the hemispace of target presentation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aboitiz F, Scheibel AB, Fisher RS, Zaidel E (1992) Individual differences in brain asymmetries and fiber composition in the human corpus callosum. Brain Res 598:154–161
Bashore TR (1981) Vocal and manual reaction time estimates of inter-hemispheric transmission time. Psychol Bull 89:352–368
Basu AP, Turton A, Lemon RN (1994) Activation of ipsilateral upper limb muscles by transcranial magnetic stimulation in man (abstract). J Physiol (Lond) 479:144
Begbie GH (1959) Accuracy of aiming in linear hand-movements. Q J Exp Psychol 11:65–75
Berlucchi G Crea, F Di Stefano M, Tassinari G (1971) Influence of spatial stimulus-response compatibility on reaction time of ipsilateral and contralateral hand to lateralized light stimuli. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 3:505–517
Bock O (1994) Scaling of joint torque during planar arm movements. Exp Brain Res 101:346–352
Bradshaw JL, Bradshaw JA, Nettleton NC (1989) Direction and location of movement in kinesthetic judgments of extent. Neuropsychologia 27:1139–1151
Bradshaw JL, Bradshaw JA, Nettleton NC (1990) Abduction, adduction and hand differences in simple serial movements. Neuropsychologia 28:917–931
Brinkman J, Kuypers HGJM (1972) Split-brain monkeys: cerebral control-of ipsilateral and contralateral arm, hand and finger movements. Science 176:536–539
Bryden MP, Bulman-Fleming MB (1994) Laterality effects in normal subjects: evidence for interhemispheric interactions. Behav Brain Res 64:119–129
Burke D, Gracies JM, Mazevet D, Meunier S, Pierrot-Deseilligny E (1994) Non-monosynpatic transmission of the cortical command for voluntary movement in man. J Physiol (Lond) 480:191–202
Caminiti R, Johnson PB, Burnod Y, Galli C, Ferraina S (1990) Shift of preferred directions of premotor cortical cells with arm movements performed across the workspace. Exp Brain Res 83:228–232
Carson RG, Chua R, Elliott D, Goodman D (1990) The contribution of vision to asymmetries in manual aiming. Neuropsychologia 28:1215–1220
Carson RG, Goodman D, Elliott D (1992) Asymmetries in the discrete and pseudocontinuous regulation of visually guided reaching. Brain Cogn 18:169–191
Carson RG, Goodman D, Chua R, Elliott D (1993) Asymmetries in the regulation of visually guided aiming. J Mot Behav 25:21–32
Chua R, Carson RG, Goodman D, Elliott D (1992) Asymmetries in the spatial localization of transformed targets. Brain Cogn 20:227–235
Colebatch JG, Gandevia SC (1989) The distribution of muscular weakness in upper motor neuron lesions affecting the arm. Brain 112:749–763
Colebatch JG, Rothwell JC, Day BL, Thompson PD, Marsden CD (1990) Cortical outflow to proximal arm muscles in man. Brain 113:1843–1856
Colebatch JG, Deiber M-P, Passingham RE, Friston KJ, Frackowiak RSJ (1991) Regional cerebral blood flow during voluntary arm and hand movements in human subjects. J Neurophysiol 65:1392–1401
Corrigan RE, Brogden WJ (1949) The trigonometric relationship of precision and angle of linear pursuit-movements. Am J Psychol 62:90–98
Degos JD, Gray F, Lourarn F, Ansquer JC, Poirer J, Barbizet J (1987) Posterior callosal infarction: Clinicopathological correlations. Brain 110:1155–1171
De Lacoste MC, Kirkpatrick JB, Ross ED (1985) Topography of the human corpus callosum. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 44:579–591
Der Staak van C (1975) Intra- and interhemispheric visual-motor control of human arm movements. Neuropsycholgia 13:439–448
Di Stefano M, Morelli M, Marzi CA, Berlucchi G (1980) Hemispheric control of unilateral and bilateral movements of proximal and distal parts of the arm as inferred from simple reaction time to lateralized light stimuli in man. Exp Brain Res 38:197–204
Di Stefano M, Sauerwein HC, Lassonde M (1992) Influence of anatomical factors and spatial compatibility on the stimulus response relationship in the absence of the corpus callosum. Neuropsychologia 30:177–185
Elliot D, Roy EA, Goodman D, Carson RG, Chua R, Maraj BKV (1993) Asymmetries in the preparation and control of aiming movements. Can J Exp Psychol 47:570–589
Fagot J, Lacreuse A, Vauclair J (1994) Hand-movement profiles in a tactual-tactual matching task: effects of spatial factors and laterality. Percept Psychophys 45:347–355
Fisk JD, Goodale MA (1985) The organization of eye and limb movements during unrestricted reaching to targets in ipsilateral and contralateral space. Exp Brain Res 60:159–178
Flanagan JR, Ostry DJ, Feldman AG (1993) Control of trajectory modifications in target-directed reaching. J Mot Behav 25:140–152
Flash (1987) The control of hand equilibrium trajectories in multijoint arm movements. Biol Cybern 57:257–274
Gallese V, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Luppino G, Murata A (1996) A parietal-frontal circuit for hand grasping movements in the monkey: evidence from reversible inactivation experiments. In Thier P, Karnath H-O (eds) Parietal lobe contributions to orientation in 3-D space. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Ghez C, Gordon J, Ghilardi MF (1993) Programming of extent and direction in human reaching movements. Biomed Res [Suppl 1] 14:1–5
Glickstein M (1980) Posterior parietal cortex and visual control of the hand. Behav Brain Sci 3:503
Glickstein ME (1990) Brain pathways in the visual guidance of movement and the behavioral functions of the cerebellum. In: Trevarthen E (ed) Brain circuits and the functions of the mind: essays in honor of Roger W. Sperry. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 157–167
Goodale MA, Milner AD, Jakobson LS, Carey DP (1990) Kinematic analysis of limb movements in neuropsychological research: subtle deficits and recovery of function. Can J Psychol 44:180–195
Gordon J, Gilhardi MF, Cooper SE, Ghez C (1994) Accuracy of planar reaching movements. II. Systematic errors resulting from inertial anisotropy. Exp Brain Res 99:112–130
Graziano SA, Yap GS, Gross CG (1994) Coding of visual space by premotor neurons. Science 266:1054–1057
Guitton D, Buchtel HA, Douglas RM (1985) Frontal lobe lesions in man cause difficulties in supressing reflexive glances and in generating goal-directed saccades. Exp Brain Res 58:455–472
Haaxma H, Kuypers HGJM (1975) Intrahemispheric cortical connections and visual guidance of hand and finger movements in the rhesus monkey. Brain 98:239–260
Happee R (1992) Goal directed arm movements. I. Analysis of EMG records in shoulder and elbow muscles. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2:165–168
Happee R, Van der Helm FCT (1995) The control of shoulder muscles during goal directed movements, an inverse dynamic analysis. J Biomech 28:1179–1191
Hogan (1985) The mechanics of mulit-joint posture and movement control. Biol Cybern 52:315–331
Honda H (1984) Functional between-hand differences and outflow eye position information. Quart J Exp Psychol 36:75–88
Hoptman MJ, Davidson RJ (1994) How and why do the two cerebral hemispheres interact? Psychol Bull 116:195–219
Ingum J, Bjorklund R (1994) Effects of flunitrazepam on responses to lateralized visual stimuli: evidence for cerebral asymmetry of execution of manual movements to targets in contralateral and ipislateral visual space. Psychopharmacology 114:551–558
Jakobson LJ, Goodale MA (1989) Trajectories of reaches to prismatically-displaced targets: evidence for “automatic” visuomotor recalibration. Exp Brain Res 78:575–587
Jakobson LJ, Servos P, Goodale MA, Lassonde M (1994) Control of proximal and distal components of prehension in callosal agenesis. Brain 117:1107–1113
Jeannerod M (1988) The neural and behavioural organization of goal-directed movements. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Jeeves MA, Silver PH (1988) The formation of finger grip during prehension in an acallosal patient. Neuropsychologia 26:153–159
Johnson PB, Ferraina S Caminiti R (1993) Cortical networks for visual reaching. Exp Brain Res 97:361–365
Jordon MI, Flash T, Arnon Y (1994) A model of the learning of arm trajectories from spatial deviations. J Cogn Neurosci 6:359–376
Karst GM, Hasan Z (1991a) Initiation rules for planar, two-joint arm movements. J Neurophysiol 66:1579–1593
Karst GM, Hasan Z (1991b) Timing and magnitude of electromyographic activity for two-joint arm movements in different directions. J Neurophysiol 66:1594–1604
Koshland GF, Hasan Z (1994) Selection of muscles for initiation of planar, three-joint arm movements with different final orientations of the hand. Exp Brain Res 98:157–162
Lakke JPWF, Weerden TW van, Staal-Schreinemachers A (1984) Axial apraxia, a distinct phenomenon. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 86:291–294
Lassonde M, Jeeves MA (1994) Callosal agenesis: a natural splitbrain? (Adv Behav Biol 42) Plenum, London
Lawrence DG, Kuypers HGJM (1968a) The functional organization of the motor system in the monkey. I. The effects of bilateral pyramidal lesions. Brain 91:1–14
Lawrence DG, Kuypers HGJM (1968b) The functional organization of the motor system in the monkey. II. The effects of lesions of the descending brain-stem pathway. Brain 91:15–36
Levin MF (1996) Interjoint coordination during pointing movements is disrupted in spastic hemiparesis. Brain 119:281–293
Lomas J, Kimura D (1976) Intrahemispheric interaction between speaking and sequential manual activity. Neuropsychologia 14:23–34
Marzi CA, Bisiacchi P, Nicoletti R (1991) Is interhermspheric transfer of visuomotor information asymmetric? Evidence from a meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia 29:1163–1177
Matelli M, Rizzolatti Bettinardi V, Gilardi MC, Perani D, Rizzo G, Fazio F (1993) Activation of precentral and mesial motor areas during the execution of elementary proximal and distal arm movements: a PET study. Neuroreport 4:1295–1298
Muller F, Kunesch E, Binkofski F, Freund H-J (1991) Residual sensorimotor functions in a patient after right-sided hemispherectomy. Neuropsychologia 29:125–145
Oldfield RC (1971) The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia 9:97–114
Peters M (1987) A nontrivial motor performance difference between right handers and left handers: attention as an intervening variable in the expression of handedness. Can J Psychol 41:91–99
Poeck K, Lehmkuhl G, Willmes K (1982) Axial movements in ideomotor apraxia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 45:1125–1129
Porac C, Coren S (1976) The dominant eye. Psychol Bull 83:880–897
Prablanc C, Echallier JF, Komilis E, Jeannerod M (1979) Optimal response of the eye and hand motor systems in pointing at a visual target. I. Spatio-temporal characteristics of eye and hand movements and their relationships when varying the amount of visual information. Biol Cybern 35:113–124
Proctor RW, Reeve TG (1990) Stimulus-response compatibility: an integrated perspective. North-Holland, Amsterdam
Rizzolatti G, Riggio L, Sheliga BM (1995) Space and selective attention. In: Umilita C, Moscovitch M (eds) Conscious and unconscious processing and cognitive function. (Attention and performance XV) MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Roy EA, Kalbfleisch L, Elliot D (1994) Kinematic analyses of manual asymmetries in visual aiming movements. Brain Cogn 24:289–295
Rugg MD, Lines CR, Milner AD (1984) Visual evoked potentials to lateralized visual stimuli and the measurement of interhemispheric transmission time. Neuropsychologia 22:215–225
Rugg MD, Milner AD, Lines CR (1985) Visual evoked potentials to lateralised stimuli in two cases of callosal agenesis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 48:367–373
Savaki HE, Kennedy C, Solokoff L, Mishkin M (1994) Visuallyguided reaching with the forelimb contralateral to a blind hemisphere-a metabolic mapping study in monkeys. J Neurosci 13:2772–2789
Sergent J, Myers JJ (1985) Manual, blowing, and verbal simple reactions to lateralized flashes of light in commissurotomized patients. Percept Psychophys 37:571–578
Taira M, Mine S, Georgopolous AP, Murata A, Sakata H (1990) Parietal cortex neurons of the monkey related to the visual guidance of hand movement. Exp Brain Res 83:29–36
Tanji J, Okano K, Sato KC (1988) Neuronal activity in cortical motor areas related to ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral digit movements of the monkey. J Neurophysiol 60:325–343
Tassinari G, Aglioti S, Pallini R, Berlucchi G, Rossi GF (1994) Interhemispheric integration of simple visuomotor responses in patients with partial callosal defects. Behav Brain Res 64:141–149
Tipper SP, Lortie C, Baylis GC (1992) Selective reaching: Evidence for action-centred attention. J Exp Psychol 18:891–905
Todor JI, Doane T (1978) Handedness and hemispheric asymmetry in the control of movements. J Mot Behav 10:295–300
Triggs WJ, Calvanio R, MacDonell RAL, Cross D, Chiappa KH (1994) Physiological motor asymmetry in human handedness: evidence from transcranial magnetic stimulation. Brain Res 636:270–276
Trope I, Fishman B, Gur RC, Sussman NM, Gur RE (1987) Contralateral and ipislateral control of fingers following callosotomy. Neuropsychologia 25:287–291
Turner RS, Owens JWM, Andersin ME (1995) Directional variation of spatial and temporal characteristics of limb movements made by monkeys in a two-dimensional work space. J Neurophysiol 74:684–697
Wasserman EM, Pascual-Leone A, Hallett M (1994) Cortical motor representation of the ipsilateral hand and arm. Exp Brain Res 100:121–132
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carey, D.P., Hargreaves, E.L. & Goodale, M.A. Reaching to ipsilateral or contralateral targets: within-hemisphere visuomotor processing cannot explain hemispatial differences in motor control. Exp Brain Res 112, 496–504 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227955
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227955