Left hemisphere specialization for facial and manual imitation.

The hypothesis that the left cerebral hemisphere is specialized for the production of facial and manual motor imitation was tested. The measure of hemispheric specialization was electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of alpha rhythm (8–12 Hz) asymmetries from homologous parietal sites taken during spatial, verbal, and motor imitation tasks. It was found that both language and motor imitation tasks were significantly more left-lateralized than spatial tasks. The language and imitation tasks did not differ significantly in terms of the pattern of hemispheric specialization exhibited. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the left hemisphere is more directly involved in the production of facial and manual gestures. The role of motor imitation in the development of left hemisphere specialization for language is discussed.

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