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Using the Landmark Task to Test the Underlying Assumptions of Unilateral Contraction Research
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Description: Unilateral contraction research assumes that squeezing a ball with one hand activates the contralateral brain hemisphere, enhancing the specialized functions of that hemisphere. For example, squeezing a ball with your left hand activates the right hemisphere, leading to an increase in global processing (Gable, Poole, & Cook, 2013), or creative thinking (Goldstein, Revivo, Kreitler, & Metuki, 2010). The results from prior research show that contraction effectively enhances a number of functions. Yet, to our knowledge, no one has empirically tested whether unilateral contractions do activate the contralateral hemisphere in an observable manner. Here we address this substantial gap in the literature by using the landmark task—a known measure of visuospatial attention—to measure hemispheric activation following (Experiments 1-3, 6) and during (Experiments 4-6) intermittent and sustained unilateral contractions. This work is published in Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition.