Tactile Discrimination of Direction of Lines in Relation to Hemispheric Specialization

The role of the right hemisphere in a task of haptic discrimination of line orientation was studied in 16 children aged 7–6 and 16 adults aged 25 yr. The exploratory movements were limited to hand and wrist, since it has been shown that distal movements are mediated by the contralateral hemisphere. A comparison of the performance of the two hands shows a clear superiority of the left hand and inferred right hemisphere in both children and adults. An especial emphasis in the discussion is given to the role of the experimental procedure in enhancing the effect of the hemispheric functional asymmetries.

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Hemispheric specialization for communicative processing: neuroimaging data on the role of the right hemisphere

Psicologia Teoria e Pesquisa ◽

10.1590/s1983-32882009000100005 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rochele Paz Fonseca ◽

Lilian Cristine Scherer ◽

Camila Rosa de Oliveira ◽

Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta Parente

Keyword(s):

Right Hemisphere ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

The Right

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Handedness Does Not Impact Inhibitory Control, but Movement Execution and Reactive Inhibition Are More under a Left-Hemisphere Control

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym13091602 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 1602

Author(s):

Christian Mancini ◽

Giovanni Mirabella

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Dominant Role ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

Arm Movement ◽

Proactive Inhibition ◽

Stop Signal Task ◽

The Right

The relationship between handedness, laterality, and inhibitory control is a valuable benchmark for testing the hypothesis of the right-hemispheric specialization of inhibition. According to this theory, and given that to stop a limb movement, it is sufficient to alter the activity of the contralateral hemisphere, then suppressing a left arm movement should be faster than suppressing a right-arm movement. This is because, in the latter case, inhibitory commands produced in the right hemisphere should be sent to the other hemisphere. Further, as lateralization of cognitive functions in left-handers is less pronounced than in right-handers, in the former, the inhibitory control should rely on both hemispheres. We tested these predictions on a medium-large sample of left- and right-handers (n = 52). Each participant completed two sessions of the reaching versions of the stop-signal task, one using the right arm and one using the left arm. We found that reactive and proactive inhibition do not differ according to handedness. However, we found a significant advantage of the right versus the left arm in canceling movements outright. By contrast, there were no differences in proactive inhibition. As we also found that participants performed movements faster with the right than with the left arm, we interpret our results in light of the dominant role of the left hemisphere in some aspects of motor control.

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Lateralization of Language

The Oxford Handbook of Neurolinguistics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190672027.013.34 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 876-906

Author(s):

Lise Van der Haegen ◽

Qing Cai

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Speech Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Language Impaired ◽

Language Functions ◽

Hemisphere Dominance ◽

The Right

It is intriguing that the two brain halves of the human brain look so similar, but are in fact quite different at the anatomical level, and even more so at the functional level. In particular, the highly frequent co-occurrence of right-handedness and left hemisphere dominance of language has led to an abundance of laterality research. This chapter discusses the most important recent finding on laterality (i.e., left or right hemisphere) and degree of hemispheric specialization for speech production, auditory speech processing, and reading. Following a descriptive overview of these three core sub-processes of language, the chapter summarizes possible influences on the lateralization of each, including anatomical, evolutionary, genetic, developmental, and experiential factors, as well as handedness and impairment. It will become clear that language is a heterogeneous cognitive function driven by a variety of underpinning origins. Next, the often-underestimated role of the right hemisphere for language is discussed with respect to prosody and metaphor comprehension, as well as individual differences in the lateralization of healthy and language-impaired brains. Finally, recent insights into the relationship between lateralized language and non-language functions are discussed, highlighting the unique contribution of lateralization research to the growing knowledge of general human brain mechanisms.

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Hemispheric specialization for communicative processing: Neuroimaging data on the role of the right hemisphere.

Psychology & Neuroscience ◽

10.3922/j.psns.2009.1.05 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 25-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rochele Paz Fonseca ◽

Lilian Cristine Scherer ◽

Camila Rosa de Oliveira ◽

Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta Parente

Keyword(s):

Right Hemisphere ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

The Right

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LATERALIZED ULTRADIAN RHYTHMS OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN: TEMPORAL VARIATIONS OF TACTILE DISCRIMINATION TESTED IN GERMAN SUBJECTS

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932099002217 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 221-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

ALFRED MEIER-KOLL

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Ultradian Rhythms ◽

Tactile Discrimination ◽

Left Hand ◽

Left Brain ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Right Hand ◽

The Right

Endogenous ultradian rhythms with a periodicity of 2–3 hours operate separately in the right and left hemispheres of the human brain and modulate physiological functions, perception and cognition. Since sensory pathways from either hand terminate in the contralateral hemisphere, ultradian rhythms of the right and left brain can be monitored by variations in the tactile discrimination of the left and right hand, respectively. Thirteen right-handed German males were tested every 15 minutes for 8 hours. Time series of the tactile error rate determined for the right and left hands oscillate with significantly different ultradian periodicities. Whereas cycles in tactile discrimination of the right hand (left hemisphere) have a periodicity of about 2 hours, tactile discrimination of the left hand (right hemisphere) is modulated by longer periods of about 3 hours. This is interpreted in terms of the overall functional asymmetry of the human brain. Since the left brain is the specialized locus for verbal processing and the right brain for visual–spatial processing, lateralized ultradian rhythms operating in the hemispheres may provide a distinct frame for long-term timing of neuronal processes underlying semantic and spatial mapping of the environment. This is particularly important for interpreting biosocial behavioural rhythms seen in humans living under natural conditions.

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No Evidence of Improved Emotion Perception Through Unilateral Hand Contraction

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.1177/0031512519888080 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 127 (1) ◽

pp. 126-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miloš Stanković ◽

Milkica Nešić

Keyword(s):

Facial Expressions ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Visual Fields ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Emotion Perception ◽

Matching Task ◽

Contralateral Hemisphere ◽

Left Hand ◽

Face Matching ◽

The Right

Previous studies have identified improved cognitive performance from unilateral hand contraction to effect contralateral hemisphere activation. As little is known of whether this activation can improve emotion perception, this study examined any differences in perception accuracy and reaction times of matching photographs of human facial expressions presented to the left or right visual fields after left versus right hemisphere activation triggered by unilateral hand contractions. We used photographs of happy, sad, and neutral facial expressions presented briefly and simultaneously (two photographs in each presentation) either unilaterally (intrahemisphere condition) or bilaterally (interhemisphere condition). We recruited 68 university student participants (aged 19–23 years) and randomly assigned half of them to squeeze a dynamometer with the right hand, while the other half squeezed with the left hand, prior to performing the Dimond face-matching task. Matching of happy faces was faster than matching of sad faces. In females (but not males), perception accuracy was higher when stimuli were presented in the right (vs. left) visual field. We found no difference in emotion perception of photographs in either unilateral (intrahemispheric) or bilateral (interhemispheric) stimuli presentations as a function of hand contractions.

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The role of the right hemisphere in psychological function

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e602642012-027 ◽

1983 ◽

Author(s):

Jerre Levy

Keyword(s):

Right Hemisphere ◽

Psychological Function ◽

The Right

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The Right Hemisphere Is Responsible for the Greatest Differences in Human Brain Response to High-Arousing Emotional versus Neutral Stimuli: A MEG Study

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11080960 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 960

Author(s):

Mina Kheirkhah ◽

Philipp Baumbach ◽

Lutz Leistritz ◽

Otto W. Witte ◽

Martin Walter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Emotional Stimuli ◽

Brain Response ◽

Whole Brain ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Cortical Regions ◽

The Right ◽

Healthy Participants

Studies investigating human brain response to emotional stimuli—particularly high-arousing versus neutral stimuli—have obtained inconsistent results. The present study was the first to combine magnetoencephalography (MEG) with the bootstrapping method to examine the whole brain and identify the cortical regions involved in this differential response. Seventeen healthy participants (11 females, aged 19 to 33 years; mean age, 26.9 years) were presented with high-arousing emotional (pleasant and unpleasant) and neutral pictures, and their brain responses were measured using MEG. When random resampling bootstrapping was performed for each participant, the greatest differences between high-arousing emotional and neutral stimuli during M300 (270–320 ms) were found to occur in the right temporo-parietal region. This finding was observed in response to both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. The results, which may be more robust than previous studies because of bootstrapping and examination of the whole brain, reinforce the essential role of the right hemisphere in emotion processing.

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