Research Journal of Medical Sciences

Year: 2008
Volume: 2
Issue: 3
Page No. 121 - 127

Sensori-Motor Lateral Preferences of Amateur Motorsport Drivers

Authors : Jonathan S. Pointer

Abstract: Vision-related aspects of motorsport activity have been little reported. We consider here oculo-visual influence upon hand and foot action for the kart racing driver as investigated through an assessment of patterns of sensori-motor lateral preference. Functional lateral preferences for eye, hand and foot were determined by a self-administered questionnaire, initially amongst a population of kart racing drivers (N = 60, 90% males, aged 10-52 years) and subsequently for a matched control group of optometric patients. Further comparative laterality data were located in a published study of healthy male subjects in the general population (N = 2,756, 94% aged 8-55 years). For each modality the kart drivers recorded no statistically significant difference in degree of right preference compared to either the matched control group or the larger general population; 70% were right-eyed, 85% right-footed and 90% right-handed. Lateral congruency of sensori-motor combinations was statistically similar in motorsport and non-participating individuals, being only slightly more ipsilateral than chance would predict. Patterns of lateral association between the sighting eye and the preferred upper/lower limbs of kart drivers were no different to those recorded for a non-motorsport population. This outcome is considered in the context of the physical restrictions imposed on the driver by the race equipment and the specific motion dynamics of competitive kart racing.

How to cite this article:

Jonathan S. Pointer , 2008. Sensori-Motor Lateral Preferences of Amateur Motorsport Drivers. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 2: 121-127.

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