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Right‐lateralized alpha desynchronization during regularity discrimination: Hemispheric specialization or directed spatial attention?
Author(s) -
Wright Damien,
Makin Alexis D. J.,
Bertamini Marco
Publication year - 2015
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/psyp.12399
Subject(s) - psychology , cognitive psychology , laterality , alpha (finance) , audiology , neuroscience , developmental psychology , psychometrics , medicine , construct validity
When actively classifying abstract patterns according to their regularity, alpha desynchronization ( ERD ) becomes right lateralized over posterior brain areas. This could reflect temporary enhancement of contralateral visual inputs and specifically a shift of attention to the left, or right hemisphere specialization for regularity discrimination. This study tested these competing hypotheses. Twenty‐four participants discriminated between dot patterns containing a reflection or a translation. The direction of the transformation, which matched one half onto the other half, was either vertical or horizontal. The strategy of shifting attention to one side of the patterns would not produce lateralized ERD in the horizontal condition. However, right‐lateralized ERD was found in all conditions, regardless of orientation. We conclude that right hemisphere networks that incorporate the early posterior regions are specialized for regularity discrimination.