Victoria L. Harms, Lorin J. Elias
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
DOI: 10.4236/psych.2014.58098   PDF         4,221 Downloads   6,383 Views   Citations

Abstract

Lateralization of cognitive functioning is a well-established principle of cerebral organization. The left and right hemispheres are known to play distinct and complementary roles in the processing of information. What is still unclear is whether these asymmetrically lateralized functions have a common or distinct developmental origin; are left and right processes lateralized through causal influences, or is the laterality of each function independently influenced? Left- and right-lateralized functions are commonly assessed in isolation, with little attention to the relationship in the degree and direction of lateralization within individuals. This relationship between left-hemisphere processing of speech sounds and right-hemisphere processing of emotional vocalizations was examined using dichotic listening tasks. An overall complementary pattern of lateralization was observed across participants, but no significant relationship was found for degree of lateralization of speech and emotional vocalization processing within individuals. These results support the view that functions in the left and right hemispheres are independently lateralized.

Keywords

Lateralization, Complementarity, Language, Emotion Processing

Share and Cite:

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Adobe (2009). Audition (Version 4.0) [Software]. http://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html
[2]	Adolphs, R., Damasion, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (1996). Cortical Systems for the Recognition of Emotion in Facial Expressions. The Journal of Neuroscience, 16, 7678-7687.
[3]	Ahern, G. L., & Schwartz, G. E. (1979). Differential Lateralization for Positive Versus Negative Emotion. Neuropsychologia, 17, 693-698. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(79)90045-9 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[4]	Andresen, D. R., & Marsolek, C. J. (2005). Does a Causal Relation Exist between the Functional Hemispheric Asymmetries of Visual Processing Subsystems? Brain and Cognition, 59, 135-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2005.05.010 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[5]	Badzakova-Trajkov, G., Haberling, I. S., Roberts, R. P., & Corballis, M. C. (2010). Cerebral Asymmetries: Complementary and Independent Processes. PLoS ONE, 5, 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0009682 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[6]	Belin, P., Zatorre, P. J., & Ahad, P. (2002). Human Temporal-Lobe Response to Vocal Sounds. Cognitive Brain Research, 13, 17-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0926-6410(01)00084-2 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[7]	Blonder, L. X., Bowers, D., & Heilman, K. M. (1991). The Role of the Right Hemisphere in Emotional Communication. Brain, 114, 1115-1127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/114.3.1115 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[8]	Borod, J. C., Obler, L. K., Erhan, H. M., Grunwald, I. S., Cicero, B. A., Welkowitz, J. et al. (1998). Right Hemisphere Emotional Perception: Evidence across Multiple Channels. Neuropsychology, 12, 446-458. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.12.3.446 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[9]	Bradshaw, J. L. (2001). Asymmetries in Preparation for Action. Trends in Cognitive Science, 5, 184-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01656-9 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[10]	Broca, P. (1861). Remarquessur le siège de la facultéde la parole articulée, suiviesd’une observation d’aphémie (perte de parole). Bulletin de la SocieteAnatomique (Paris), 36, 330-357.
[11]	Bryden, M. P. (1982). Laterality: Functional Asymmetry in the Intact Brain. New York: Academic Press.
[12]	Bryden, M. P. (1990). Choosing Sides: The Left and Right of the Normal Brain. Canadian Psychology, 31, 297-309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0078949 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[13]	Bryden, M. P., & MacRae, L. (1989). Dichotic Laterality Effects Obtained with Emotional Words. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology and Behavioural Neurology, 1, 171-176.
[14]	Bryden, M. P., & Sprott, D. A. (1981). Statistical Determination of Degree of Laterality. Neuropsychologica, 19, 571-581. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(81)90023-3 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[15]	Bryden, M. P., Hecaen, H., & DeAgostini, M. (1983). Patterns of Cerebral Organization. Brain and Language, 20, 249-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(83)90044-5 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[16]	Bulman-Fleming, M. B., & Bryden, M. P. (1994). Simultaneous Verbal and Affective Laterality Effects. Neuropsychologia, 32, 787-797. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(94)90017-5 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[17]	Carmon, A., & Nachshon, I. (1973). Ear Asymmetry in Perception of Emotional Non-Verbal Stimuli. Acta Psychologica, 37, 351357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(73)90002-4 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[18]	Corballis, M. C. (1991). The Lopsided Ape. New York: Oxford University Press.
[19]	Davidson, R. J. (1984). Affect, Cognition, and Hemispheric Specialization. In C. E. Izard, J. Kagan, & R. Zajonc (Eds.), Emotion, Cognition, and Behavior (pp. 320-365). New York: Cambridge University Press.
[20]	Davidson, R. J. (1992). Anterior Cerebral Asymmetry and the Nature of Emotion. Brain and Cognition, 20, 125-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0278-2626(92)90065-T [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[21]	Demaree, H. A., Everhart, D. E., Youngstom, E. A., & Harrison, D. W. (2005). Brain Lateralization of Emotional Processing: Historical Roots and a Future Incorporating “Dominance”. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 4, 3-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1534582305276837 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[22]	Efron, R., Koss, B., & Yund, E. W. (1983). Central Auditory Procession. IV. Ear Dominance—Spatial and Temporal Complexity. Brain and Language, 19, 264-282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(83)90070-6 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[23]	Elias, L. J., Bryden, M. P., & Bulman-Fleming, M. B. (1998). Footedness Is a Better Predictor Than Is Handedness of Emotional Lateralization. Neurospychologia, 36, 37-43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0028-3932(97)00107-3 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[24]	Elias, L. J., Bulman-Fleming, M. B., & Guylee, M. J. (1999). Complementarity of Cerebral Function among Individuals with Atypical Laterality Profiles. Brain and Cognition, 40, 112-115.
[25]	Friederici, A. D., & Alter, K. (2004). Lateralisation of Auditory Language Functions: A Dynamic Dual Pathway Model. Brain and Language, 89, 267-276. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0093-934X(03)00351-1 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[26]	Grimshaw, G. M. (1998). Integration and Interference in the Cerebral Hemispheres: Relations with Hemispheric Specialization. Brain and Cognition, 36, 108-127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brcg.1997.0949 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[27]	Hecaen, H., DeAgostini, M., & Monzon-Montes, A. (1981). Cerebral Organization in Left-Handers. Brain and Language, 12, 261-284. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(81)90018-3 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[28]	Heller, W. (1993). Neuropsychological Mechanisms of Individual Differences in Emotion, Personality, and Arousal. Neuropsychology, 7, 476-489. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.7.4.476 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[29]	Hellige, J. B. (1993). Hemispheric Asymmetry: What’s Right and What’s Left. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
[30]	Kimura, D. (1961). Cerebral Dominance and the Perception of Verbal Stimuli. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 15, 166-171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0083219 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[31]	King, F. L., & Kimura, D. (1972). Left-Ear Superiority in Dichotic Perception of Vocal Non-Verbal Sounds. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 26, 111-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0082420 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[32]	Kinsbourne, M. (1975). The Mechanisms of Hemispheric Control of the Lateral Gradient of Attention. In P. M. Rabbit, & S. Doric (Eds.), Attention and Performance (pp. 81-97). London: Academic Press.
[33]	Levy, J. (1977). The Mammalian Brain and the Adaptive Advantage of Cerebral Asymmetry. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 299, 264-272. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1977.tb41913.x [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[34]	Ley, R. G., & Bryden, M. (1982). A Dissociation of Right and Left Hemisphere Effects for Recognizing Emotional Tone and Verbal Content. Brain and Cognition, 1, 3-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0278-2626(82)90002-1 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[35]	Lindell, A. K. (2006). In Your Right Mind: Right Hemisphere Contributions to Language Processing and Production. Neuropsychology Review, 16, 131-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-006-9011-9 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[36]	MacNeilage, P. F. (1991). The “Postural Origins” Theory of Primate Neurobiological Asymmetries. In N. A. Krasnegor, D. M. Rumbaugh, R. L. Schiefelbusch, & M. Studdert-Kennedy (Eds.), Biological and Behavioral Determinants of Language Development (pp. 165-188). Hillsdale, NI: Lawrence Erlbaum.
[37]	McKeever, W. F., & Dixon, M. S. (1981). Right Hemisphere Superiority of Discriminating Memorized from Non-Memorized Faces: Affective Imagery, Sex, and Perceived Emotional Effects. Brain and Language, 12, 246-260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(81)90017-1 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[38]	McNeely, H. E. & Parlow, S. E. (2001). Complementarity of Linguistic and Prosodic Processes in the Intact Brain. Brain and Language, 79, 473-481. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brln.2001.2502 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[39]	Perria, P., Rosadini, G., & Rossi, G. F. (1961). Determination of Side of Cerebral Dominance with Amobarbital. Archives of Neurology, 4, 175-181.
[40]	Poeppel, D. (2003). The Analysis of Speech in Different Temporal Integration Windows: Cerebral Lateralisation as “Asymmetric Sampling in Time”. Speech Communication, 41, 245-255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6393(02)00107-3 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[41]	Poyatos, F. (2002). Non-Verbal Communication across Disciplines (Vol. 2). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.
[42]	Psychology Software Tools, Inc. (2003). E-Prime. (Version 1.2) [Software]. http://www.pstnet.com/eprime
[43]	Robinson, R. G., & Price, T. R. (1982). Post-Stroke Depressive Disorders: A Follow-Up Study of 103 Patients. Stroke, 13, 635-641. http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.13.5.635 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[44]	Rossi, G. F., & Rosadini, G. (1967). Experimental Analysis of Cerebral Dominance in Man. In H. Millikan, & F. L. Darley (Eds.), Brain Mechanisms Underlying Speech and Language (pp. 167-184). New York: Grune & Stratton.
[45]	Saxby, L., & Bryden, M. P. (1984). Left-Ear Superiority in Children for Processing Auditory Emotional Material. Developmental Psychology, 20, 72-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.20.1.72 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[46]	Sidtis, J. J. (1982). Predicting Brain Organization from Dichotic Listening Performance: Cortical and Subcortical Functional Asymmetries Contribute to Perceptual Asymmetries. Brain and Language, 17, 287-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(82)90022-0 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[47]	Sperry, R. W. (1982). Some Effects of Disconnecting the Cerebral Hemispheres. Science, 217, 1223-1227. http://dx.doi.org/.1126/science.7112125
[48]	Suberi, M., & McKeever, W. F. (1977). Differential Right Hemisphere Memory Storage of Emotional and Non-Emotional Faces. Neuropsychologia, 15, 757-768. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(77)90006-9 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[49]	Teng, E. (1981). Dichotic Ear Difference Is a Poor Index for the Functional Asymmetry between the Cerebral Hemispheres. Neuropsychologia, 19, 235-240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(81)90107-X [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[50]	Terzian, H. (1964). Behavioral and EEG Effects of Intracarotid Sodium Amytal Injections. Acta Neurochirurgica, 12, 230-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01402095 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[51]	Trager, G. L. (1958). Paralanguage: A First Approximation. Studies in Linguistics, 13, 1-12.
[52]	Wexler, B. E., & Halwes, T. (1983). Increasing the Power of Dichotic Methods: The Fused Rhymed Words Test. Neuropsychologia, 21, 59-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(83)90100-8 [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]