Split fovea theory and the role of the two cerebral hemispheres in reading: A review of the evidence

Split fovea theory proposes that when the eyes are fixated within a written word, visual information about the letters falling to the left of fixation is projected initially to the right cerebral hemisphere while visual information about the letters falling to the right of fixation is projected to the left cerebral hemisphere. The two parts of the word must be re-united before the word can be recognised. Bilateral projection theory proposes instead that visual information is projected simultaneously to both hemispheres provided that it falls within the fovea (defined as the central 2-3 degrees). On this more traditional account, no interhemispheric transfer would be required in order to read a word presented within the fovea. We review the evidence in support of split fovea theory and consider some of the objections that have been raised. We argue that a split fovea affects the reading of words at fixation, something that must be recognised and accounted for by cognitive, computational and neural models of reading.