Investigating the relationship between manual dexterity and auditory spatial processing

Manual dexterity, referring to fine motor skills and hand–eye coordination, has been suggested to influence various cognitive processes, including attention. Attention has been shown to be strongly related to auditory spatial processing, which primarily involves the perception and interpretation of sound locations in the environment. This study aimed to investigate the potential association between manual dexterity and auditory spatial processing abilities.

A total of 30 participants, aged 19–25 years (mean age: 22.06 ± 1.85 years), were assessed for handedness using the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire (EHQ). They were divided into 2 groups: 15 right-handed (RH) and 15 left-handed (LH) individuals based on their EHQ scores. The virtual auditory space identification (VASI) test was administered for the assessment of auditory spatial skills. It consists of presenting a series of virtually presented sounds from 8 azimuths (0°, R45°, R90°, R135°, 180°, L90°, L135°, and L45°) randomly through TDH HDA 200 headphones. Correct responses and biased responses along with their corresponding reaction times were calculated.

Results revealed that although the RH group displayed a slightly stronger leftward bias in both degrees of error and reaction compared to the LH group and vice-versa, these differences were not statistically significant.

The study concluded that there is little to no association between handedness and an individual’s auditory spatial ability. The absence of a significant difference in auditory spatial performance between RH and LH individuals may contribute to more inclusive and equitable approaches in fields where auditory spatial abilities are important.

SH/IRB/RP/08. Registered 12 January 2023.