Symmetric distribution in latencies of cortical somatosensory potentials evoked by right and left posterior tibial nerve stimulation in right-, left-, and mixed-handed men and women

The latencies of the P1, N1, P2, and N2 components of the somatosensory potentials evoked by stimulation of the right and left posterior tibial nerves in the right-, left-, and mixed-handed men and women were subjected to a statistical analysis. The mean latencies of the primary and secondary cortical responses are symmetrically distributed between the right and left sides for all the subjects. The mean latencies obtained of women were significantly shorter than those of men. This difference was accounted for by the fact that the mean body height of women was significantly less than that of men, since there was a significant positive correlation between body height and latency. It was concluded that the conduction times for the cortical input as well as the early cortical information processing, despite synaptic interventions, cannot play a role in the cerebral lateralization concerning the perceptual and manipulospatial tasks.