Dissociation between the mental rotation of visual images and motor images in unilateral brain-damaged patients

Deficits in the mental rotation of body parts and of external objects can be doubly dissociated (Rumiati, Tomasino, Vorano, Umiltà, & De Luca, 2001; Sirigu & Duhamel, 2001; Tomasino, Rumiati, & Umiltà, in press). The aim of this study was to replicate this finding and to then investigate the relevance of the specific hemispheres in these deficits. Nine patients with unilateral lesions (five in the Left Hemisphere and four in the Right) and 20 control subjects, performed a single task requiring mental rotation of hands, and two tasks requiring mental rotation of external objects. RH patients were impaired in the rotation of external objects, but showed intact performance on the rotation of hands; the opposite pattern was found for LH patients. These results support the view that the LH contributes to the mental rotation of hands, recruiting processes specific to motor preparation, while the RH is specialized for mental rotation of external objects.