scholarly journals Assessing animal individuality: links between personality and laterality in pigs

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 541-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Goursot ◽  
Sandra Düpjan ◽  
Ellen Kanitz ◽  
Armin Tuchscherer ◽  
Birger Puppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Motor Functions ◽  
Salivary Testosterone ◽  
Single Motor ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Cerebral Processing

Abstract Animal individuality is challenging to explain because individual differences are regulated by multiple selective forces that lead to unique combinations of characteristics. For instance, the study of personality, a core aspect of individuality, may benefit from integrating other factors underlying individual differences, such as lateralized cerebral processing. Indeed, the approach-withdrawal hypothesis (the left hemisphere controls approach behavior, the right hemisphere controls withdrawal behavior), may account for differences in boldness or exploration between left and right hemispheric dominant individuals. To analyze the relationships between personality and laterality we tested 80 male piglets with established laterality patterns for 2 motor functions (tail curling direction and the side of the snout used for manipulation) and a combined classification integrating both motor functions using cluster analysis. We analyzed basal salivary testosterone and cortisol along with their behavior in standardized tests as pre-established indicators of different personality traits (Boldness, Exploration, Activity, Sociability, and Coping). We found that the direction of the single motor biases showed significant associations with few personality traits. However, the combined laterality classification showed more, and more robust, significant associations with different personality traits compared with the single motor biases. These results supported the approach-withdrawal hypothesis because right-biased pigs were bolder and more explorative in a context of novelty. Additionally, right-biased pigs were more sociable than left-biased pigs. Therefore, the present study indicates that personality is indeed related to lateralized cerebral processing and provides insight into the multifactorial nature of individuality.

scholarly journals Cerebral Lateralization of the EEG During Perceptual-Motor Integration in Young Adults With Down Syndrome: A Descriptive Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Chia Chen ◽  
Shannon D. R. Ringenbach ◽  
Arielle Biwer ◽  
Abbie Riekena
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Cerebral Lateralization ◽  
Cerebral Laterality ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Main Components ◽  
The Right ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
Cerebral Processing

Background: This study was aimed at investigating cerebral laterality of perceptual-motor integration in persons with DS. Method: Fourteen persons with DS between the ages of 12-39 drummed with their dominant hand (e.g., right hand) following verbal (i.e., drumming to a voice saying "drum"), rhythm (i.e., drumming to the sound of a drum being hit) and melody (i.e., drumming to the loudest beat) instructions. Electroencephalogram (EEG) data at T3 (left hemisphere) and T4 (right hemisphere) was collected and computed as cerebral specialization coefficients during drumming performance. Results: It seems like that our results were consistent with the model of atypical hemisphere processing of verbal information in the right hemisphere in persons with DS, which is opposite to the typical population (Elliott et al., 1987). In addition, the results showed that melody instructions were right hemisphere specialized and rhythm instruction was left hemisphere specialized in persons with DS. Conclusions: This is the first study to systematically examine verbal, rhythm and melody processing in persons with DS. Rhythm and melody are two main components of music. Therefore, these results are promising for understanding mechanisms underlying cerebral processing as well as music therapy for persons with DS.

scholarly journals Patients with Lesions to Left Prefrontal Cortex (BA 9 and BA 10) Have Less Entrenched Beliefs and Are More Skeptical Reasoners

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1674-1688
Author(s):  
Vinod Goel ◽  
Miriam Marling ◽  
Vanessa Raymont ◽  
Frank Krueger ◽  
Jordan Grafman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Dependent Measure ◽  
Lesion Symptom Mapping ◽  
Considerable Individual Variation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Normal Controls

The effect of prior beliefs on reasoning and decision-making is a robust, poorly understood phenomenon, exhibiting considerable individual variation. Neuroimaging studies widely show the involvement of the left pFC in reasoning involving beliefs. However, little patient data exist to speak to the necessity and role of the left pFC in belief-based inference. To address this shortcoming, we tested 102 patients with unilateral focal penetrating traumatic brain injuries and 49 matched controls. Participants provided plausibility ratings (plausible/implausible) to simple inductive arguments and (separately) strength of believability ratings of the conclusion to those same arguments. A voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis identified 10 patients, all with lesions to the left pFC (BA 9 and BA 10) as rating significantly fewer arguments with highly believable conclusions as “plausible,” compared with all other patients. Subsequent analyses, incorporating the right hemisphere homologue of these patients ( n = 12) and normal controls ( n = 24), revealed patients with lesions to left pFC found fewer arguments plausible in the high believable than either of these groups, and there was no difference in the behavioral scores of the right pFC patients and normal controls. Further analysis, utilizing the belief ratings as the dependent measure, revealed a Group × Belief Rating interaction, with left pFC patients having less intense beliefs about the conclusions of moderately believable and highly believable arguments. We interpreted these results to indicate that lesions to left pFC (BA 9, BA 10) increase incredulity and make these patients more skeptical reasoners. The former can partially, but not fully, explain the latter. The other relevant factor may be that unilateral left pFC lesions disrupt hemispheric equilibrium and allow for an increased inhibitory role of the right pFC. We speculate that individual differences in belief bias in reasoning in the normal population may be a function of individual differences in the left and right pFC interactional dynamics.

Differences in Task and Use of Language: A Study of Lateral Eye Movement

1981 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 995-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Katz ◽  
Patricia Salt
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Scholastic Aptitude Test ◽  
Aptitude Test ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Scholastic Aptitude ◽  
Lateral Eye ◽  
The Right

The lateral eye movements of 25 right-handed, native-English speakers 18 to 30 yr. of age were recorded. Both task and individual differences in the utilization of cerebral hemispheres were found. Earlier findings of task differences in the direction of eye movements for verbal and spatial questions were confirmed, and previous evidence of the involvement of the right hemisphere with “unpleasant” emotion was supported. No differences in performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test were found between consistent and inconsistent eye movers. Individual differences between right-eye movers and left-eye movers were found in their choice of college majors, Scholastic Aptitude Test performance, and in their course preferences. The current study also presents evidence of differences in language use by adults which seem related to cerebral hemispheric activity.

scholarly journals Cerebral Lateralization of the EEG During Perceptual-Motor Integration in Young Adults With Down Syndrome: A Descriptive Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Chia Chen ◽  
Shannon D. R. Ringenbach ◽  
Arielle Biwer ◽  
Abbie Riekena
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Cerebral Lateralization ◽  
Cerebral Laterality ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Main Components ◽  
The Right ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
Cerebral Processing

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Background: This study was aimed at investigating cerebral laterality of perceptual-motor integration in persons with DS. Method: Fourteen persons with DS between the ages of 12-39 drummed with their dominant hand (e.g., right hand) following verbal (i.e., drumming to a voice saying "drum"), rhythm (i.e., drumming to the sound of a drum being hit) and melody (i.e., drumming to the loudest beat) instructions. Electroencephalogram (EEG) data at T3 (left hemisphere) and T4 (right hemisphere) was collected and computed as cerebral specialization coefficients during drumming performance. Results: It seems like that our results were consistent with the model of atypical hemisphere processing of verbal information in the right hemisphere in persons with DS, which is opposite to the typical population (Elliott et al., 1987). In addition, the results showed that melody instructions were right hemisphere specialized and rhythm instruction was left hemisphere specialized in persons with DS. Conclusions: This is the first study to systematically examine verbal, rhythm and melody processing in persons with DS. Rhythm and melody are two main components of music. Therefore, these results are promising for understanding mechanisms underlying cerebral processing as well as music therapy for persons with DS.</span></p>

Individual differences in semantic switching flexibility: Effects of handedness

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1023-1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
VARALAKSHMI SONTAM ◽  
STEPHEN D. CHRISTMAN ◽  
JOHN D. JASPER
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Animal Names ◽  
The Right ◽  
Fluency Task

AbstractThe semantic fluency task is a widely used assessment tool for evaluating memory-related cognitive deficits in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The present study investigates individual differences in performance on this task in a normal population. The aim is to explore handedness differences in switching and clustering tendencies when performing this task. Consistent with our prediction, when asked to produce as many animal names as possible in 1 min, mixed handers demonstrated greater switching between different subcategories of animals than strong handers. These findings are interpreted in terms of the more diffuse spread of activation among conceptual representations in the right hemisphere, and greater access to right hemisphere processes in mixed handers. The findings have implications for the research communities using the semantic fluency task, irrespective of whether or not they are looking at handedness differences per se. (JINS, 2009, 15, 1023–1027.)

Investigation of the Effect of Mode and Tempo on Emotional Responses to Music Using EEG Power Asymmetry

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Trochidis ◽  
Emmanuel Bigand
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Eeg Activity ◽  
Musical Excerpt ◽  
Major Mode ◽  
Musical Modes ◽  
Slow Tempo ◽  
The Right

The combined interactions of mode and tempo on emotional responses to music were investigated using both self-reports and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity. A musical excerpt was performed in three different modes and tempi. Participants rated the emotional content of the resulting nine stimuli and their EEG activity was recorded. Musical modes influence the valence of emotion with major mode being evaluated happier and more serene, than minor and locrian modes. In EEG frontal activity, major mode was associated with an increased alpha activation in the left hemisphere compared to minor and locrian modes, which, in turn, induced increased activation in the right hemisphere. The tempo modulates the arousal value of emotion with faster tempi associated with stronger feeling of happiness and anger and this effect is associated in EEG with an increase of frontal activation in the left hemisphere. By contrast, slow tempo induced decreased frontal activation in the left hemisphere. Some interactive effects were found between mode and tempo: An increase of tempo modulated the emotion differently depending on the mode of the piece.

Individual Differences and Hemispheric Asymmetry While Processing Emotional Words

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay M. Niccolai ◽  
Thomas Holtgraves
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Hemispheric Asymmetry ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Hemispheric Differences ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Emotional Words ◽  
Emotion Words ◽  
The Right

This research examined differences in the perception of emotion words as a function of individual differences in subclinical levels of depression and anxiety. Participants completed measures of depression and anxiety and performed a lexical decision task for words varying in affective valence (but equated for arousal) that were presented briefly to the right or left visual field. Participants with a lower level of depression demonstrated hemispheric asymmetry with a bias toward words presented to the left hemisphere, but participants with a higher level of depression displayed no hemispheric differences. Participants with a lower level of depression also demonstrated a bias toward positive words, a pattern that did not occur for participants with a higher level of depression. A similar pattern occurred for anxiety. Overall, this study demonstrates how variability in levels of depression and anxiety can influence the perception of emotion words, with patterns that are consistent with past research.

Individual Differences in Students' Preferences for Lecturers' Personalities

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Furnham ◽  
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Student Ratings ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Personality Profile ◽  
Similarity Effect ◽  
Intelligence Scores ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. This study examines the relationship between students' personality and intelligence scores with their preferences for the personality profile of their lecturers. Student ratings (N = 136) of 30 lecturer trait characteristics were coded into an internally reliable Big Five taxonomy ( Costa & McCrae, 1992 ). Descriptive statistics showed that, overall, students tended to prefer conscientious, open, and stable lecturers, though correlations revealed that these preferences were largely a function of students' own personality traits. Thus, open students preferred open lecturers, while agreeable students preferred agreeable lecturers. There was evidence of a similarity effect for both Agreeableness and Openness. In addition, less intelligent students were more likely to prefer agreeable lecturers than their more intelligent counterparts were. A series of regressions showed that individual differences are particularly good predictors of preferences for agreeable lecturers, and modest, albeit significant, predictors of preferences for open and neurotic lecturers. Educational and vocational implications are considered.

Investment Traits and Intelligence in Adulthood

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie von Stumm
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Intelligence Tests ◽  
Crystallized Intelligence ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Intelligence-as-knowledge in adulthood is influenced by individual differences in intelligence-as-process (i.e., fluid intelligence) and in personality traits that determine when, where, and how people invest their intelligence over time. Here, the relationship between two investment traits (i.e., Openness to Experience and Need for Cognition), intelligence-as-process and intelligence-as-knowledge, as assessed by a battery of crystallized intelligence tests and a new knowledge measure, was examined. The results showed that (1) both investment traits were positively associated with intelligence-as-knowledge; (2) this effect was stronger for Openness to Experience than for Need for Cognition; and (3) associations between investment and intelligence-as-knowledge reduced when adjusting for intelligence-as-process but remained mostly significant.

Right-Hemisphere Specialization for Contour Grouping

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Volberg
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Contour Detection ◽  
Global Processing ◽  
Detection Accuracy ◽  
Frequency Spectra ◽  
Visual Hemifield ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
A Chain ◽  
The Right ◽  
Hemisphere Specialization

Previous studies often revealed a right-hemisphere specialization for processing the global level of compound visual stimuli. Here we explore whether a similar specialization exists for the detection of intersected contours defined by a chain of local elements. Subjects were presented with arrays of randomly oriented Gabor patches that could contain a global path of collinearly arranged elements in the left or in the right visual hemifield. As expected, the detection accuracy was higher for contours presented to the left visual field/right hemisphere. This difference was absent in two control conditions where the smoothness of the contour was decreased. The results demonstrate that the contour detection, often considered to be driven by lateral coactivation in primary visual cortex, relies on higher-level visual representations that differ between the hemispheres. Furthermore, because contour and non-contour stimuli had the same spatial frequency spectra, the results challenge the view that the right-hemisphere advantage in global processing depends on a specialization for processing low spatial frequencies.

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