What determines limb selection for reaching?

While motor dominance appears to drive limb selection for reaching movements at the midline and ipsilateral (dominant) side, this study examined the possible determinants associated with what drives the programming of movements in response to stimuli presented in contralateral space. Experiment 1 distinguished between object proximity and a hemispheric bias for using the hand on the same side as the stimulus by comparing imagined and actual reaching with arms uncrossed and crossed. Experiment 2 examined the role of comfort in limb selection via participants reaching for a cube under two conditions: 1- and multiple-df movements.

What drives children's limb selection for reaching in hemispace?

Arguably, the act of reaching constitutes one of the most devoted lines of contemporary developmental research. In addition to the underlying dynamical characteristics of motor coordination, a key element in programming is limb selection, a phenomenon (handedness) that has so far resisted any reasonable unified explanation. From a more contemporary view, two factors appear to have the most influence on hand selection for a given task: motor dominance and attentional information related to task demands.

Task complexity and limb selection in reaching.

Research examining limb selection for reaching and grasping an object in various positions of hemispace has noted a strong ipsilateral bias for using the hand on the same side as the stimulus, an observation that to some extent questions the traditional notion of handedness. The present study examined the effects of task complexity in regard to such actions. Forty-four right-handed, blindfolded subjects were required to grasp a small cube at one location and release it at another site, with movement initiated only after the second cue was presented.