TY - JOUR
T1 - Hand preference depends on posture in common marmosets
AU - Hashimoto, Teruo
AU - Yamazaki, Yumiko
AU - Iriki, Atsushi
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by the Funding Program for World-leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology at RIKEN, Japan . We would like to thank M Saiki for running some of the experiments and for assistance in the data collection.
PY - 2013/7/1
Y1 - 2013/7/1
N2 - Postural conditions are known to affect hand use in many primate species. It remains to be examined how posture and task differences modulate, or interact with, hand use in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Three experimental conditions were introduced to assess the occurrence of preferential hand use as a function of posture and size of aperture for the subjects to grasp and retrieve the food item bi- or unimanually: ground level condition for requiring quadrupedal posture with enough space for food reaching with both hands, large hole (4. cm in diameter) condition for requiring upright posture with available space for both hands, and small hole (2. cm in diameter) condition for requiring upright posture with available space for only one hand. While the distribution of hand preference did not significantly differ among the three conditions at the group level, eight out of twelve marmosets did not change hands when identical upright postures were required in large and small hole conditions. Some marmosets simultaneously used both hands when both hands were free to reach the food items; however, the number of left hand users increased when the marmosets were forced to use either hand to pass through the reduced hole size. Significant correlations in hand use between the upright posture conditions were observed, whereas no correlation was observed between the different posture conditions. These results suggest that, although preferential hand use was not found at group level, posture, but not size of aperture, has effects on hand use in individual common marmosets.
AB - Postural conditions are known to affect hand use in many primate species. It remains to be examined how posture and task differences modulate, or interact with, hand use in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Three experimental conditions were introduced to assess the occurrence of preferential hand use as a function of posture and size of aperture for the subjects to grasp and retrieve the food item bi- or unimanually: ground level condition for requiring quadrupedal posture with enough space for food reaching with both hands, large hole (4. cm in diameter) condition for requiring upright posture with available space for both hands, and small hole (2. cm in diameter) condition for requiring upright posture with available space for only one hand. While the distribution of hand preference did not significantly differ among the three conditions at the group level, eight out of twelve marmosets did not change hands when identical upright postures were required in large and small hole conditions. Some marmosets simultaneously used both hands when both hands were free to reach the food items; however, the number of left hand users increased when the marmosets were forced to use either hand to pass through the reduced hole size. Significant correlations in hand use between the upright posture conditions were observed, whereas no correlation was observed between the different posture conditions. These results suggest that, although preferential hand use was not found at group level, posture, but not size of aperture, has effects on hand use in individual common marmosets.
KW - Asymmetry
KW - Bimanual response
KW - Callithrix jacchus
KW - Lateralization
KW - Reaching
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.04.001
DO - 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.04.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 23578761
AN - SCOPUS:84877832201
VL - 248
SP - 144
EP - 1150
JO - Behavioural Brain Research
JF - Behavioural Brain Research
SN - 0166-4328
ER -