Brain lateralization in primates and its evolution in hominids

Recent studies suggest that vocal communication and visuospatial processing are lateralized to left and right hemispheres respectively in monkeys of the genus Macaca, as they are in humans. The fundamental neurological substrate that forms the basis for complex cerebral asymmetries in Homo sapiens may therefore have been established remarkably early in anthropoid evolution. The tendency toward cortical lateralization has been greatly elaborated in human evolution, such that at least 90% of extant humans are right-handed. Numerous data support an association of the left human hemisphere with time-sequencing, language skills, certain neurochemical asymmetries, and specific psychiatric disorders. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, is associated with holistic processing, visuospatial and musical abilities, emotional processing, and its own neurochemical and psychiatric properties. Although a controversial topic, there appears to be slight but significant sexual dimorphism in certain skills associated with cortical lateralization in humans. Females excel at language and fine motor skills, as well as emotional decoding and expression; males are relatively adept at composing music and exhibit visuospatial and mathematical skills. Various scenarios that account for these differences are reviewed, and it is concluded that dimorphism in these behaviors may be due in part to hormonal priming involved in prenatal gender differentiation.

[1]  J. Beaumont.  Cerebral Lateralization: Biological Mechanisms, Associations, and Pathology , 1987 .

[2]  G. Hirst.  An evaluation of evidence for innate sex differences in linguistic ability , 1982, Journal of psycholinguistic research.

[3]  W. Penfield,et al.  The Cerebral Cortex of Man: A Clinical Study of Localization of Function , 1968 .

[4]  W. G. Webster.  TERRITORIALITY AND THE EVOLUTION OF BRAIN ASYMMETRY * , 1977, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[5]  Doreen Kimura,et al.  Intrahemispheric interaction between speaking and sequential manual activity , 1976, Neuropsychologia.

[6]  H. Heffner,et al.  Temporal lobe lesions and perception of species-specific vocalizations by macaques. , 1984, Science.

[7]  R. Holloway,,et al.  Sexual dimorphism in the human corpus callosum. , 1982, Science.

[8]  M. Studdert-Kennedy,et al.  Primate handedness reconsidered , 1987, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[9]  S. D. Glick,et al.  ADAPTIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF LATERALITY IN THE RODENT , 1977, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[10]  Andrew J. Tomarken,et al.  Emotion: Today's problems. , 1986 .

[11]  S. Levine,et al.  Right hemisphere superiority in the recognition of famous faces , 1982, Brain and Cognition.

[12]  M. Kinsbourne.  Deviant Development of Lateralization and Cerebral Function , 1985 .

[13]  D. Moody,et al.  Neural lateralization of species-specific vocalizations by Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). , 1978, Science.

[14]  Phillip V. Tobias,et al.  The emergence of man in Africa and beyond , 1981 .

[15]  M. Waldrop.  Sacramento peak observatory to close? , 1985, Science.

[16]  R. Bleier.  Science and Gender , 2020, Solar Impact: Climate and the Sun.

[17]  A. Gottfried,et al.  Hand preference across time is related to intelligence in young girls, not boys. , 1983, Science.

[18]  H. Goodglass,et al.  Sex differences in the lateralization of language discrimination vs language production , 1985, Neuropsychologia.

[19]  11 – Handedness and Memory for Tonal Pitch1 , 1980 .

[20]  J. Gowan.  Spatial ability and testosterone , 1984 .

[21]  L. Stalans,et al.  Superiority of the left hemisphere in the recognition of emotional faces. , 1985, The International journal of neuroscience.

[22]  A. Benton,et al.  Lateral differences in tactile directional perception , 1978, Neuropsychologia.

[23]  N. Fox,et al.  Asymmetrical brain activity discriminates between positive and negative affective stimuli in human infants. , 1982, Science.

[24]  Daniel B Hier,et al.  Are sex differences in cerebral organization clinically significant? , 1980, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[25]  I. Sherwin.  Physiological Aspects of Cerebral Lateralization , 1985 .

[26]  P. Flor-Henry.  Evolutionary and clinical aspects of lateralized sex differences , 1980, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[27]  P. Tallal,et al.  Rate of acoustic change may underlie hemispheric specialization for speech perception , 1980, Science.

[28]  Benny Sharon.  Asymmetries in Musical Aesthetic Judgments , 1984, Cortex.

[29]  H. D. Steklis.  Primate communication, comparative neurology, and the origin of language re-examined , 1985 .

[30]  H W Gordon,et al.  Hemispheric asymmetries in the perception of musical chords. , 1970, Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior.

[31]  D. Gordon.  The influence of sex on the development of lateralization of speech , 1983, Neuropsychologia.

[32]  N. Geschwind,et al.  Right-left asymmetrics in the brain. , 1978, Science.

[33]  C. Hamilton,et al.  Hemispheric differences in split-brain monkeys viewing and responding to videotape recordings. , 1984, Behavioral and neural biology.

[34]  N. Geschwind,et al.  Left-handedness: association with immune disease, migraine, and developmental learning disorder. , 1982, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  J. Inglis,et al.  Handedness, Sex and Intelligence , 1984, Cortex.

[36]  T. Bever,et al.  Cerebral Dominance in Musicians and Nonmusicians , 1974, Science.

[37]  E. Crosby,et al.  Correlative Anatomy of the Nervous System , 1962 .

[38]  R. Ornstein,et al.  Sex and handedness differences in EEG measures of hemispheric specialization , 1982, Brain and Language.

[39]  Marjorie LeMay,et al.  MORPHOLOGICAL CEREBRAL ASYMMETRIES OF MODERN MAN, FOSSIL MAN, AND NONHUMAN PRIMATE , 1976, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[40]  H W Gordon,et al.  Letter: Hemispheric asymmetry and musical performance. , 1975, Science.

[41]  R. Lenhart,et al.  Tactile perception and the right hemisphere: A masculine superiority for imagery coding , 1983, Brain and Cognition.

[42]  P. Flor-Henry.  Psychiatric Aspects of Cerebral Lateralization , 1985 .

[43]  W. Snow,et al.  Lateralized brain damage, intelligence, and memory: a failure to find sex differences. , 1985, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[44]  F. Nottebohm.  2 – Asymmetries in Neural Control of Vocalization in the Canary , 1977 .

[45]  W H Calvin,et al.  A stone's throw and its launch window: timing precision and its implications for language and hominid brains. , 1983, Journal of theoretical biology.

[46]  D. Kimura,et al.  Sex differences in cerebral organization for speech and praxic functions. , 1983, Canadian journal of psychology.

[47]  M. Cartmill.  Rethinking primate origins. , 1974, Science.

[48]  S. P. Springer,et al.  4 – Left-Handedness in Twins: Implications for the Mechanisms Underlying Cerebral Asymmetry of Function1 , 1980 .

[49]  S. Nagae.  Handedness and sex differences in the processing manner of verbal and spatial information. , 1985, The American journal of psychology.

[50]  D. Falk.  Hominid brain evolution: The approach from paleoneurology , 1980 .

[51]  N. Toth.  Archaeological evidence for preferential right-handedness in the lower and middle pleistocene, and its possible implications , 1985 .

[52]  Stuart R. Butler,et al.  Hemispheric asymmetry of EEG alpha activation: Effects of gender and familial handedness , 1984, Biological Psychology.

[53]  R A Harshman,et al.  Sex differences in brain organization for verbal and non-verbal functions. , 1984, Progress in brain research.

[54]  R. H. Klein,et al.  Psychosocial aspects of hemophilia in families: 2. Intervention strategies and procedures , 1982 .

[55]  H. D. Steklis,et al.  Hand preference in a captive island group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) , 1986, American journal of primatology.

[56]  W. Beatty,et al.  Hormonal organization of sex differences in play fighting and spatial behavior. , 1984, Progress in brain research.

[57]  J. Bradshaw,et al.  Language lateralization to the dominant hemisphere: Tool use, gesture and language in hominid evolution , 1982 .

[58]  J. Mcglone,et al.  Sex differences in human brain asymmetry: a critical survey , 1980, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[59]  J. Warren.  10 – Handedness and Cerebral Dominance in Monkeys , 1977 .

[60]  S. F. Witelson.  The brain connection: the corpus callosum is larger in left-handers. , 1985, Science.

[61]  Dean Falk,et al.  Hadar AL 162-28 endocast as evidence that brain enlargement preceded cortical reorganization in hominid evolution , 1985, Nature.

[62]  D. Falk.  Cerebral Cortices of East African Early Hominids , 1983, Science.

[63]  J. Cheverud,et al.  Advanced computer graphics technology reveals cortical asymmetry in endocasts of rhesus monkeys. , 1986, Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology.

[64]  Andrew C. N. Chen,et al.  Sex differences in brain organization: implications for human communication. , 1985, The International journal of neuroscience.

[65]  B. Byrne.  Handedness and musical ability. , 1974, British journal of psychology.

[66]  D. Falk.  Language, Handedness, and Primate Brains: Did the Australopithecines Sign? , 1980 .

[67]  G. Ojemann.  Ojemann's data: Provocative but mysterious , 1983, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[68]  K. Armitage,et al.  Genetic Variation in Social Mammals: The Marmot Model , 1980, Science.

[69]  E. Koff,et al.  Asymmetry in positive and negative facial expressions: Sex differences , 1981, Neuropsychologia.

[70]  B. Jones,et al.  Sex differences in cerebral lateralization in 3- and 4-year old children , 1982, Neuropsychologia.

[71]  N. Geschwind,et al.  Cerebral lateralization. Biological mechanisms, associations, and pathology: I. A hypothesis and a program for research. , 1985, Archives of neurology.

[72]  Y. M. Cheung,et al.  The effects of different types of neonatal feminization and environmental stimulation on changes in sex-associated activity/spatial learning skills , 1982, Biological Psychology.

[73]  J. Saver,et al.  Quantitative analysis of cerebral asymmetries. Fronto-occipital correlation, sexual dimorphism and association with handedness. , 1986, Archives of neurology.