Response Hand Differentially Affects Action Word Processing

Abstract

Recent approaches in the tradition of theories of semantic and conceptual “grounding” emphasize the role of perceptual and motor knowledge in language as well as action understanding. However, the role of the two cerebral hemispheres in integrating action-motor and language processes is not clear yet. The present study looked at the influence of a simultaneous motor tapping task on word processing. In a lexical decision task, uni-manual and bi-manual hand-related, and foot-related action verbs were presented in the left and right visual half-field. A group of healthy participants performed tapping with the left hand and lexical decisions with their right hand. In a second group of participants, the reversed hand response pattern was applied. The results showed that response hand had an influence on functional lateralization of word processing when responses were executed with the non-dominant hand. Projecting words to the ipsilateral hemisphere relative to the hemisphere performing lexical decisions led to significantly decreased performance. The results showed that left hand responses led to an increased accuracy for hand-related in contrast to foot-related action verbs. The findings suggest an influence of response hand on action word processing.

Feasibility of Estimating Concentration Level of Japanese Document Workers Based on Kana-Kanji Conversion Confirmation Time

“…Dual-task condition increased KKCCT in 15 out of 16 participants compared to Normal condition, with an average increase of 43ms across all participants. Previous studies have reported that the increase in response time of the main task in a dual-task scenario is about 60ms when a word identification subtask is added to the face image identification main task [37], 29 to 96 ms when a tapping subtask is added to the lexical decision main task [38], and about 150ms when a 1-back auditory subtask is added to the character search main task [39]. Moreover, it has been reported that the dual-task cost varies from several to tens of milliseconds depending on the stimulus presentation interval [37] or the visual condition (laterality) [38].…”

“…Previous studies have reported that the increase in response time of the main task in a dual-task scenario is about 60ms when a word identification subtask is added to the face image identification main task [37], 29 to 96 ms when a tapping subtask is added to the lexical decision main task [38], and about 150ms when a 1-back auditory subtask is added to the character search main task [39]. Moreover, it has been reported that the dual-task cost varies from several to tens of milliseconds depending on the stimulus presentation interval [37] or the visual condition (laterality) [38]. In these studies, the additional processing time for the main task caused by the subtask ranged around several tens of milliseconds.…”

DiViDu – An Open Source Solution for Dual Task Experiments with Integrated Divided Visual Field Paradigm

“…The following columns reflect the stimuli information including the stimulus type (3), the visual field setting (4), the task condition (5), the table includes the stimuli (6), the word category (7) as well as the subcategory (7). Finally, it contains the correctness of the response (correct/ incorrect/timeOver) (10) and the reaction time (11). Thus, 'timeOver' reflects a missing response after a defined response period, in our experimental setup 3000 ms.…”

“…We developed DiViDu for a dual task experiment, where participants perform either a lexical decision task only (single task) or simultaneously with a complex one-handed tapping task (dual task) (cf., [11] for an overview). The participants perform the tapping task either with their right or left hand, while responding to the lexical decision task with the other hand.…”