Right hemisphere language and cognitive deficit in sinistrals?

Abstract Ninety-six student subjects were studied in a strictly balanced design contrasting sex, handedness and familial dextrality/sinistrality. WAIS scores were obtained, and two tachistoscopic tasks (RT responses) administered, involving laterally presented verbal stimuli (word/non-word decisions with high frequency, concrete, imageable and low frequency, abstract non-imageable words), and a face discrimination task designed to generate right hemisphere processing. There was a striking WAIS Performance deficit among sinistrals, particularly familial; familial dextrals proved overall fastest; directional asymmetries were weakest for the sinistrals, particularly the non-familial; non-familial dextrals were no less lateralized than familial dextrals; parental handedness was a better predictor of performance than sibling handedness; and no differential pattern of field asymmetries appeared for the two classes of word stimuli. Some theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

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