The right hemisphere as an anomaly detector: evidence from visual perception.
V. S. Ramachandran (1998) has suggested that the right hemisphere, which tends to be specialized for the analysis of global-level information, serves as an anomaly detector. Its role is to judge whether a given percept is possible and whether there are elements of that percept that seem incongruent with the other elements. In contrast, the left hemisphere tends to create a "story" to make sense of the incongruities. In the current study, pictures of possible or impossible objects were displayed for brief exposure durations to either the left visual field/right hemisphere or to the right visual field/left hemisphere). The results provide tentative support for the work of Ramachandran. In male participants, the right hemisphere was superior to the left in detecting impossible objects.
Smith
Stephen D
SD
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. taschwei@watarts.uwaterloo.ca
Tays
William J
WJ
Dixon
Michael J
MJ
Bulman-Fleming
M Barbara
MB
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*