Laterality in cats: paw preference and performance in a visuomotor activity.
Laterality in paw use was investigated over a period of 6 years in 44 domestic cats trained to perform a reaching movement toward a moving spot of light. Both paw preference and paw performance were recorded. At a 50 percent criterion, no significant paw preference was found at the level of the group. When a 90 percent criterion was considered, 23 subjects had a significant preference for one paw. Among these strongly lateralized animals, there were more left- (N = 17) than right-pawed (N = 6) cats. The analysis of visuo-motor performances included reaction time, movement time, and reaching accuracy. Lateralized cats had a faster reaction time than nonlateralized cats. The more-used paw had a shorter reaction time, a shorter movement time, and was also more accurate than the less-used paw. Thus, the findings demonstrate a functional advantage of being lateralized. Moreover, the results confirm the existence of an asymmetry of paw preference in cats and show a consistent relation between paw preference and performance.
Fabre-Thorpe
M
M
Institut des Neurosciences, Département de Neurophysiologie Comparée, Paris.
Fagot
J
J
Lorincz
E
E
Levesque
F
F
Vauclair
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D002415:Cats; D002755:Choice Behavior; D007839:Functional Laterality; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception; D009042:Motivation; D009949:Orientation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time