Asymmetry and performance: toward a neurodevelopmental theory.

Full Abstract

Hemispheric asymmetry implies the existence of developmental influences that affect one hemisphere more than the other. However, those influences are poorly understood. One simple view is that asymmetry may exist because of a relationship between a mental process' degree of lateralization and how well it functions. Data scaling issues have largely prevented such investigations, but it is shown that scaling effects are minimized after correction for ceiling and floor effects. After correction, lateralization-performance correlations are pervasive. However, while some correlations are positive, others are negative, with the direction depending on the underlying lateralized process. Two hypotheses are proposed that can account for these relationships by pointing either to individual differences in maturation of the corpus callosum or to developmental limits encountered at different ages of childhood. Their investigation should contribute toward a neurodevelopmental theory of hemispheric asymmetry.

Author information

Author/s: Boles, David B (DB); Barth, Joan M (JM); Merrill, Edward C (EC);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA. dboles(-atsign-)bama.ua.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Brain and cognition (Brain Cogn), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Mar; vol 66 (issue 2) : pp 124-39

Dates: Created 2008/02/04; Completed 2008/05/02;

PMID: 17659822, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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