Lateralization of brain function: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:21, 20 May 2006

Revision as of 11:37, 30 June 2006

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==Which side?==

[[Reason]]ing functions such as [[language]] are often lateralized to the left hemisphere of the brain. [[Dyscalculia]] is a [[neurology|neurological]] syndrome associated with damage to the left [[temporal lobe|temporal]]-[[parietal lobe|parietal]] junction{{<ref| name="Levy_1">Levy}} LM, Reis IL, Grafman J. Metabolic abnormalities detected by 1H-MRS in dyscalculia and dysgraphia. ''Neurology''. 1999 Aug 11;53(3):639-41. PMID 10449137</ref>. This syndrome is associated with poor number manipulation, poor mental [[arithmetic]], and an inability to understand or apply mathematical concepts[http://www.dyscalculia.org/calc.html].

In contrast, visual and [[music]] functions such as spatial manipulation, [[face perception|facial perception]], and artistic ability seem to be lateralized to the right hemisphere.

Other integrative functions such as intuitive or [[heuristic]] arithmetic, binaural sound localization, [[emotion]]s, etc. seem to be more bilaterally controlled{{.<ref| name="Dehaene_1">Dehaene}} S, Spelke E, Pinel P, Stanescu R, Tsivkin S. Sources of mathematical thinking: behavioral and brain-imaging evidence. Science. 1999 May 7;284(5416):970-4. PMID 10320379.</ref>

==History==

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===Split-brain patients===

Research by [[Michael Gazzaniga]] and [[Roger Wolcott Sperry]] in the [[1960s]] on [[split-brain]] patients led to an even greater understanding of functional laterality. Split-brain patients are patients who have undergone corpus callosotomy (usually as a treatment for severe epilepsy), a severing of the [[corpus callosum]]. The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain and allows them to communicate. When these connections are cut, the two halves of the brain act independently of one another. This led to many interesting [[behavior]]al phenomena that allowed Gazzaniga and Sperry to study the contributions of each hemisphere to various cognitive and perceptual processes. One of their main findings was that the right hemisphere was capable of rudimentary language processing, but often has no lexical or grammatical abilities{{<ref| name="Kandel_1">Kandel}} E, Schwartz J, Jessel T. ''Principles of Neural Science''. 4th ed. p1182. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2000. ISBN 0838577016</ref>.

==See also==

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==References==

<References />

#{{note|Kandel}}Kandel E, Schwartz J, Jessel T. ''Principles of Neural Science''. 4th ed. p1182. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2000. ISBN 0838577016

#{{note|Goulven}}:* Goulven Josse, Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer (2003) Review: Hemispheric specialization for language. Brain Research Reviews 44 1-12.

#{{note|Dehaene}}Dehaene S, Spelke E, Pinel P, Stanescu R, Tsivkin S. Sources of mathematical thinking: behavioral and brain-imaging evidence. Science. 1999 May 7;284(5416):970-4. PMID 10320379

#{{note|Levy}}Levy LM, Reis IL, Grafman J. Metabolic abnormalities detected by 1H-MRS in dyscalculia and dysgraphia. ''Neurology''. 1999 Aug 11;53(3):639-41. PMID 10449137

#{{note|Goulven}}Goulven Josse, Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer (2003) Review: Hemispheric specialization for language. Brain Research Reviews 44 1-12.

==Further reading==