Citation

Adam JJ. Acta Psychol. 2008; 127(2): 491-494.

Affiliation

Department of Movement Sciences, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. jos.adam@bw.unimaas.nl

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.08.012

PMID

17923098

Abstract

Accurate motor performance requires a process of response selection that chooses the correct response out of a set of possible ones. Most theories of response selection assume that this selection process operates on spatial codes, which define the location of stimuli and responses in environmental coordinates, with little or no role for the anatomical codes of the effectors involved. In this study, I systematically manipulated the anatomical identities of the response fingers in a four-choice reaction task, while keeping the stimulus and response locations constant. Results showed that homologous fingers on different hands modulated the reaction time profiles and error patterns in a mirror-symmetrical way. This finding indicates that anatomical factors may play a more substantial role in response selection than often assumed.

Language: en