Lecture notes
HEMISPHERIC LATERALISATION
- Module
- NEUROPSYCHOLOGY (PSY0661)
- Institution
- Northumbria University (UNN)
Lecture notes of 3 pages for the course NEUROPSYCHOLOGY at UNN (LECUTRE 21/23)
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Lecture 21 - HEMISPHERIC LATERALIZATIONRecap;
- Function-Structure relationship poorly defined
- Basic functions (e.g. vision) can be localized to specific regions
- Localizing more complex functions (e.g. emotions) a little more tricky
Laterality;
- Preferential use of superior functions of the body
- Complex, finely tuned, and specialized (Corballis, 1991)
- Flexibility (having one brain region dedicated to a process makes us more flexible).
- Handedness (Right hand – manipulator/Left hand – holder)
- Asymmetry of the face revealed by constructing composite faces in which the face is
made up of the same two sides.
- Attractiveness – right (Zaidel et al. 1995)
Asymmetries in communication of emotional valence;
- Portraits showing the right side are judged as happier whereas portraits featuring
the left side of the face are judged to express sadness more strongly.
- When asked to say which image is happier, people tend to pick image A (right side of
the face).
- More intense expressions found on the left side (Levy et al. 1983)
Neuroanatomical Asymmetry;
- Hemispheres of the brain look mirror images
- Right frontal larger
- Left occipital larger
- Sylvian fissure and the temporal lobes
- What are the implications of this in terms of function?
Functional Hemispheric Asymmetry;
- Left > rational, verbal, linear and analytic
- Right > emotional, spatial, holistic, and intuitive (van Lancker, 1997)
- Left versus right; western versus eastern styles of thinking (Corballis,
1991). The Duality of Mind (Wigan, 1844).
- Left versus Right Brain Function: Common Beliefs (shown in picture).
Roger Sperry & the split-brain procedure;
- The corpus callosum is the primary means of communication between the 2
hemispheres
- In 1960’s, Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga
carried out numerous studies in patients who had
undergone commissurotomy to contain the spread
of epileptic seizures.
- The procedure allows subsequent assessment of
how the two hemispheres operate in relative
isolation (visual information presented to one
hemisphere does not transfer). By cutting this
communication pathway there isn’t such a dramatic
effect as you may think.
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