Psychophysiological correlates of dissociation, handedness, and hemispheric lateralization.
Dissociation involves a disruption of typically integrated functions including consciousness, information perception, and memory; however, dissociation may not always be of a pathologic nature. Increasingly, studies are identifying relations between inconsistent handedness, mixed hemispheric lateralization, and dissociative symptomatology in both clinical and nonclinical populations. The current study explored whether a nonclinical sample of individuals scoring high in dissociation would display an inconsistent handedness in conjunction with a left hemispheric lateralization as measured by electroencephalography. Twenty-seven participants (12 males and 15 females) aged between 20 and 59 years (M = 29.1 year, SD = 11.2 years), completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale and Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire Revised after determining laterality. As predicted, inconsistently handed participants scoring high in dissociation displayed left hemispheric lateralization across frontal, central, and parietal regions. Conversely, right lateralization was found within Delta frequency band across temporal regions. The study provides a good framework for future research investigating the neurophysiological correlates underpinning dissociative symptomatology.
Ashworth
Joel
J
Biology of Individual Differences Research Unit, Brain Sciences Institute, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
Ciorciari
Joseph
J
Stough
Con
C
D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011603:Psychophysiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted