Effects of memory load on interhemispheric relay

There are basically two tachistoscopic techniques by which questions can be asked experimentally in normal subjects about how cognitive variables affect the way the hemispheres intercommunicate. A first approach, the [...]
Experimentation with unilateral and bilateral tachistoscopic stimulation (the Dimond paradigm) increasingly suggests that interhemispheric cooperation (bilateral advantage) occurs or increases as a function of task complexity in general and memory load in particular. However, tachistoscopic experimentation with ipsilateral and contralateral field/hand relation conditions (the Poffenberger paradigm) has failed to provide any conclusive supporting evidence. The present investigation comprised a Sternberg 'high speed memory scanning' task, modified as a go/no-go task, and formatted into the Poffenberger paradigm. Sets of items to be scanned (memory load) varied in size from one to four. A highly significant effect of load and a significant field/hand interaction were found, but the field/hand/load interaction did not reach significance. We concluded that the interhemispheric transfer time (ITT) metric drawn from this paradigm is not reliably sensitive to increasing memory load. However, our finding of significantly longer ITT in women than in men suggests that commissural anatomy and physiology may be sexually dimorphic.