A new theory of human brain function is outlined in terms of the cooperative interaction of the cerebral hemispheres. The well-established verbal, symbolic functions of the left hemisphere and the wholistic, spatial functions of the right hemisphere are seen as separate and independent manifestations of the normally integrated verbal-analytic (or “error detector”) and conceptual (or “goal state”) functions of the left and right, respectively. The relationship between the hemispheres is described in terms of the “goal-directed” system of cybernetics and then compared with related ideas previously presented by Dimond, Penfield, and Piaget.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Agresti-LevyJ.SperryR. W.Differential perceptual capacities in major and minor hemispheres. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S., 1968, 61, 1151.
2.
AndersonJ. R.BowerG. H.Human associative memory.Washington, D. C.: Winston, 1973.
BogenJ. E.The other side of the brain: An appositional mind. Bulletin of the Los Angeles Neurological Society, 1969, 34, 135–162.
5.
BowerG. H.Analysis of a mnemonic device. American Scientist, 1970, 58, 496–510.
6.
BrewerW. F.LichtensteinE. H.Memory for marked semantic features versus memory for meaning. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1974, 13, 172–180.
7.
BungeM.Does time flow backwards?Philosophy of Science, 1968, 35, 355–361.
8.
ButlerS. R.GlassA.Asymmetries in the CNV over left and right hemispheres while subjects await numeric information. Biological Psychology, 1974, 2, 1–16.
9.
CarringerD. C.Creative thinking abilities of Mexican youth: The relationship of bilingualism. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1974, 5, 492–504.
10.
ClarkH. H.ChaseW. G.On the process of comparing sentences against pictures. Cognitive Psychology, 1972, 3, 472–517.
11.
CrowellD. H.JonesR. H.KapuniaiL. E.NakagawaJ. K.Unilateral cortical activity in newborns: An early index of cerebral dominance?Science, 1973, 180, 205–206.
12.
DennisM.WhitakerH. A.Language acquisition following hemi-decortication. Brain and Language, 1976, 3, 404–433.
GazzanigaM. S.HillyardS. A.Language and speech capacity of the right hemisphere. Neuropsychology, 1971, 9, 273–280.
18.
HovlandC. I.Concept formation. In Encyclopedia Britannica.Chicago: William Benton, 1970. Vol. 6. Pp. 254–255.
19.
InhelderB.PiagetJ.The psychology of the child.New York: Basic Books, 1969.
20.
JacksonJ. H.On the nature of the duality of the brain. Medical Press, 1874, 1, 19–25, 41–49, 63–70. [Reprinted in Brain, 1915, 38, 80–103.].
21.
KatzA. N.PaivioA.Imagery variables in concept identification. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1975, 14, 284–293.
22.
KeatsD. M.KeatsJ. A.The effect of language on concept acquisition in bilingual children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1974, 5, 80–99.
23.
KeatsD. M.KeatsJ. A.RafaeiW.Concept acquisition in Malaysian bilingual children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1976, 7, 87–99.
24.
KlausmeierH. J.WiersmaW.Concept attainment as a function of figural-verbal material and an ordered-random stimulus display. Psychological Reports, 1967, 21, 357–363.
25.
LemonN.Linguistic development and conceptualization: A bilingual study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1975, 6, 173–188.
26.
LennebergE. H.Biological foundations of language.New York: Wiley, 1967.
27.
LevyJ.Possible basis for the evolution of lateral specialization of the human brain. Nature, 1969, 224, 614–615.
28.
LibermanA. M.The specialization of the language hemisphere. In SchmittF. O.WordenF. G. (Eds.), The neurosciences third study program.Cambridge, Mass.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1974. Pp. 43–56.
29.
LloydB. B.Perception and cognition: A cross-cultural perspective.Hammondsworth: Penguin Books, 1972.
30.
MilnerB.Introduction. In SchmittF. O.WordenF. G. (Eds.), The neurosciences third study program.Cambridge, Mass.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1974. P. 4.
31.
MoeserS. D.Memory for meaning and wording in concrete and abstract sentences. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1974, 13, 682–697.
32.
MorganA. H.McDonaldP. J.MacDonaldH.Differences in bilateral alpha activity as a function of experimental task with a note on lateral eye movement and hypnotizability. Neuropsychology, 1971, 9, 459–467.
33.
MoscovitchM.On the representation of language in the right hemisphere of right-handed people. Brain and Language, 1976, 3, 47–71.
34.
MurdockB. B.Human memory: Theory and data.Potomac, Md.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1974.
35.
NeisserU.Changing concepts of imagery. In SheehanP. W. (Ed.), The function and nature of imagery.New York: Academic Press, 1972. Pp. 233–251.
36.
OrnsteinR. E.The psychology of consciousness.New York: Viking Press, 1972.
37.
PaivioA.Imagery and verbal processes.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971.
38.
PenfieldW.Speech and brain mechanisms.Princeton, N. J.: Princeton Univer. Press, 1959.
39.
PiagetJ.The construction of reality in the child.New York: Basic Books, 1959.
40.
PiagetJ.The language and thought of the child.London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965.
41.
PotterM. C.FaulconerB. A.Time to understand pictures and words. Nature; 1975, 253, 437–438.
42.
RobbinsK. I.McAdamD. W.Interhemispheric alpha symmetry and imagery mode. Brain and Language, 1974, 1, 189–194.
43.
RunquistW. N.HuttV. H.Verbal concept learning in high school students with pictorial and verbal representations of stimuli. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1961, 52, 108–111.
44.
SchankR. C.Conceptual dependency: A theory of natural language understanding. Cognitive Psychology, 1972, 3, 552–631.
SelnesO. A.The corpus callosum: Some anatomical and functional considerations with special reference to language. Brain and Language, 1974, 1, 111–139.
47.
SnodgrassJ. G.WasserB.FinkelsteinM.GoldbergL. B.On the fate of visual and verbal memory codes for pictures and words: Evidence for a dual-coding mechanism in recognition memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1974, 13, 27–37.
48.
SperryR. W.Hemisphere deconnection and unity in conscious awareness. American Psychologist, 1968, 23, 723–733.
49.
StromnesF. J.To be is not always to be. Scandanavian Journal of Psychology, 1974, 15, 89–98.
50.
Studdert-KennedyM.ShankweilerD. P.Hemispheric specialization for speech perception. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1970, 48, 579–593.
51.
WhorfB. L.Language, thought and reality.Cambridge, Mass.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1956.
