Abstract
In the present experiment we investigated the effects of concurrent hemisphere-specific cognitive activity on manual and pedal tapping frequency in a dual-task interference paradigm. Typically, right-hand finger-tapping interference is observed during a verbal task, and left-hand interference is observed during a nonverbal task. This effect has theoretically been linked to the concept of competition for the same functional space within a hemisphere between two concurrently performed tasks. In the present study, the concept of functional space was examined by comparing finger-tapping with foot-tapping. The assumption was that finger-tapping should be more affected than foot-tapping to hemisphere-specific tasks, and especially a verbal task, considering the closer structural overlap between the cortical hand area and the speech area The experiment involved four tasks performed concurrently with either finger- or foot-tapping. The tasks were reading a text aloud, humming, watching slides with nonsense-syllables, and watching slides with visuospatial patterns. The subjects were 20 right-handed males. The results did not support the hypothesis of competition for functional space.
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