Contralateral effects of thermal stimuli on manual performance capability

¹ Engineering Psychology Laboratories, Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command, U. S. Army Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts

The performance capability of one hand was studied as a function of its surface temperature and that of the contralateral hand. Three findings were determined to be statistically reliable for the subject sample tested: a) when the performing hand itself was cooled to a surface temperature of 40 F, performance decrements appeared which were independent of the temperature of the contralateral hand; b) when the performing hand was kept warm, cooling of the nonperforming hand resulted in an average reduction of 33% in the time typically needed for the completion of the manual task; and c) the surface temperature of a hand not exposed to the cold was found to fall an average of 2 F below its normal level when the contralateral hand was cooled to surface temperatures of 55 F or lower.