Right-hemisphere superiority in tactile pattern-recognition after cerebral commissurotomy: evidence for nonverbal memory.

Abstract Seven patients with presumed complete midline section of the inter-hemispheric commissures were tested for delayed matching of tactile patterns. In six of these patients, left-hand performance was unequivocally superior to right, thus demonstrating right-hemisphere specialization for the perception and recall of spatial patterns. The fact that the non-speaking right hemisphere could bridge intratrial intervals of at least 2 minutes, whereas the left hemisphere could not, shows that verbal coding is neither necessary nor sufficient for the retention of complex perceptual material. The further finding that subjects with cortical lesions but intact commissures were more proficient than the commissurotomized patients (even with the left hand) suggests that both cerebral hemispheres normally participate in such tasks, but with the right playing a preponderant role.

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