Dominance for language and spatial processing: limited capacity of a single hemisphere.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during word generation and spatial judgement (Landmark task), we investigated how hemispheric specializations for language and spatial processing interact in healthy individuals. We found individuals with atypical, right-hemispheric dominance for language to have more bilateral activation during spatial judgement than individuals with typical, disjunct hemispheric specialization, that is, left dominance for language and right dominance for spatial tasks. These findings suggest that hemispheric specializations for language and spatial functions interfere to some extent and favour additional recruitment of the opposite hemispheres for spatial functions.
Jansen
Andreas
A
Department of Neurology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany. anjan@uni-muenster.de
Flöel
Agnes
A
Menke
Ricarda
R
Kanowski
Martin
M
Knecht
Stefan
S
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
D010100:Oxygen