Temporal aspects of motor control were investigated in patients with infarction to the brain with two finger-tapping tests. In the self-paced tapping task patients with cortical left-hemispheric lesions were slowed down and patients with left-hemispheric subcortical injuries were consistently faster as compared with control subjects and patients with right hemispheric cortical lesions. The results point to the dominant control of the left-hemisphere in voluntarily timed action and to a special time range of 250-300 ms involved in motor behaviour.