Host: The Japanese Society for Cognitive Psychology
Previous studies, using a first-person perspective (1PP) in the hand laterality judgment (HLJ) task, have shown that the HLJ depends on biomechanical constraints (BC) for hand rotation. We measured activation of prefrontal cortex (PFC) to investigate whether the HLJ from a third-person perspective (3PP) also shows the BC effect. The right-handed participants judged whether a rotated hand picture was their own or the other’s (1pp vs. 3PP groups) left or right hand, respectively. Using their error rates, the two groups were subdivided into Error sub-Group and No Error sub-Groups. The NIRS profile of EsG in 3PP group showed a significant interaction of hand laterality × orientation in their left PFC. Specifically, the left PFC activation of two EsGs between 3PP and 1PP groups showed a significant interaction for the HLJ of presented left hand indicating that BC interferes with the HLJ performed from the 3PP as well as the 1PP.
