Perceptual Dissociation of Bimanual Coordination: A fMRI Study

In bimanual coordination tasks subjects normally show a conspicuous advantage of symmetric movement patterns. This reliably becomes apparent when antiphase movements change into symmetry with increased movement velocities resulting from coactivation of homologous muscles (e.g., Kelso et al. 1984; Johnson et al. 1998; Meesen et al., 2006). While these findings suggest that bimanual coordination is based on motor control, recent evidence suggested that bimanual coordination is governed by perceptual cues (Mechsner, Kerzel, Knoblich, & Prinz, 2001). To explore this controversy we performed a fMRI study in 11 health…