BRAILLE READING AND LEFT AND RIGHT HEMISPACE

Twelve blind human adults were timed in locating phonologically and semantically defined targets in Braille lists. The reading hand was placed either out from or across the body,i.e., in ipsilateral or contralateral hemispace. Despite strong and consistent, if idiosyncratic, hand superiorities for all types of list, contrary to 2 previous reports there was no evidence of either a general left-hand preference or an overall left-hand superiority. Moreover neither the magnitude nor the direction of hand superiorites changed when hands were tested in contralateral hemispace. At least in this complex continuous task, hemisphere hand connections appear more important than hemisphere hemispace relationships. Left-hand (or left-hemispace) superiorites in tactual tasks of a verbal nature may only occur with novel, unfamiliar or perceptually degraded materials.