The role of sex and handedness in the performance of the smartphone-based Finger-Tapping Test

Abstract

The Finger Tapping Test (FTT) is a classical neuropsychological test that assesses motor functioning, and recently it has been employed using smartphones. For classical protocols, it has been observed that sex and handedness influence the performance during the test. By assessing the influence of sex and handedness on the test, it is possible to adjust the performance measurements to ensure the validity of test results and avoid sex- and handedness-related bias. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of sex and handedness on smartphone-based FTT performance. We developed an Android application for the FTT and recruited 40 males and 40 females to carry out three spatial designs on it (protocols I, II, and III). Participants’ performance was measured using the global, temporal, and spatial parameters of the FTT. We observed that for the performance in protocol I, handedness had a significant influence on global and temporal variables, while the interaction between handedness and sex had a greater influence on spatial variables. For protocols II and III, we observed that handedness had a significant influence on global, temporal, and spatial variables compared to the other factors. We concluded that the smartphone-based test is partly influenced by handedness and sex, and in clinical implications, these factors should be considered during the evaluation of the smartphone-based FTT. Author summary The finger tapping test is a test that measures how well someone can tap a surface quickly. It has been used for many years to evaluate motor function in people with neurological diseases. In the past, telegraph keys, computer mice, and keyboards were used to do the test. However, nowadays smartphones with touchscreens are often used. Before this technology can be widely used in clinics, it’s important to investigate factors that could affect the test results. Two factors that might impact the results are a person’s sex and handedness, which is their preference for using one hand over the other. In this study, we investigated whether sex and handedness influence how well someone performs in the finger tapping test using a smartphone. We found that both sex and handedness play a role in how well someone performs, and in general, we observed that males using their dominant hand tend to perform the best on the test. These results suggest that it’s important to consider a person’s sex and handedness when interpreting the results of the smartphone-based finger tapping test.