title: Alternating cerebral hemispheric activity and the lateralization of autonomic nervous function.
abstract: Alternating dominance of cerebral hemispheric activity was demonstrated in humans by use of the electroencephalogram (EEG). Relative changes of electrocortical activity have a direct correlation with changes in the relative nostril dominance, the so-called nasal cycle. The nasal cycle is a phenomenon where efficiency of breathing alternates predominantly through right or left nostril with a periodicity ranging from 25 to greater than 200 minutes. Relatively greater integrated EEG value in one hemisphere correlates with predominant airflow in the contralateral nostril, defining a new interrelationship between cerebral dominance and peripheral autonomic nervous function.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000294:innervation; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D012119:Respiration