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Hemispheric Asymmetry for Word Perception: Behavioral and ERP Evidence
Author(s) -
Bentin Shlomo,
Feinsod Moshe
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1983.tb03001.x
Subject(s) - psychology , audiology , electroencephalography , event related potential , scalp , stimulus (psychology) , visual n1 , laterality , lateralization of brain function , oddball paradigm , electrophysiology , visual field , evoked potential , perception , cerebral hemisphere , n100 , visual perception , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , neuroscience , anatomy , medicine
Reaction times (RTs) to words or patterns presented in the left or right visual fields and averaged Event‐Related Potentials (ERPs) evoked by the same stimuli presented foveally were measured separately. In both experiments, an oddball paradigm known to elicit the P3 component was used. Twenty‐four subjects (12 males) were tested in each experiment. In the electrophysiological study EEG was measured differentially from five different scalp sites, each referred to linked ear lobes. There were two frontal and two parietal lateralized electrodes, and a fifth which was located at the vertex (C z ). The RTs to words were significantly delayed relative to the RTs to patterns. Furthermore, the responses were significantly shorter in the right visual field when the target was a word, yet only slightly shorter in the left visual field when the target was a nonsense pattern. The same pattern of results was found with the evoked potentials: A positive wave evoked by the target stimulus was measured at vertex with mean latency of 511.3 msec in the verbal task, and 464.4 msec in the nonverbal task. At the lateralized locations, a significant Task by Hemisphere interaction was found. When the target was a word the base to peak P3 amplitudes were higher over the left than over the right hemisphere. A reverse trend was found with nonverbal targets. The base to peak P3 amplitudes were slightly (but not significantly) higher over the right than over the left hemisphere.