title: Hemispheric specialization for tactile perception opposed by contralateral noise.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of each cerebral hemisphere in the categorization of tactile information with and without contralateral tactile noise. Two groups of subjects rated the dissimilarity of paired stimuli varying in shape and texture presented to the left or right hand, with contralateral noise in the other hand for one group only. Analysis of variance on derived structured indices showed a general left hand advantage in the treatment of this haptic information. Moreover, a group by hand interaction revealed that noise-exposed subjects showed better differentiation of tactile information for stimuli presented to the left hand. The data suggest a unidirectional interference by the left hemisphere in the processing of tactile information in noise-free conditions and that quality of interhemispheric transfer of information may modulate cerebral functional lateralization.
authors.affiliation: Département de sexologie, Université du Québec, Montréal.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*