TITLE:
Examination of Complementarity in Speech and Emotional Vocalization Perception
AUTHORS:
Victoria L. Harms, Lorin J. Elias
KEYWORDS:
Lateralization, Complementarity, Language, Emotion Processing
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.8,
June
18,
2014
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.