title: The right hemisphere and the dark side of consciousness.
abstract: Self-awareness and Theory of Mind comprise the main elements of higher-order consciousness. In attempting to localize these abilities, it appears that regions of the right hemisphere including fronto-temporal regions are capable of sustaining a sense of self-awareness. The right hemisphere appears dominant for tasks involving Theory of Mind as well as deception, which may be important for understanding the brain and laterality in terms of evolution. These findings are critical for our understanding of hemispheric differences in terms of higher-order consciousness.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA. keenanj@mail.montclair.edu
authors.forename: Julian P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Keenan
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Racioppi
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Allyson
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnacz
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D008192:Deception; D004532:Ego; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology