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Functional cerebral lateralization and dual-task efficiency-testing the function of human brain lateralization using fTCD
- Source :
- Behavioral Brain Research, 217(2), 293-301. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- It has been hypothesized that functional cerebral lateralization enhances cognitive performance. Evidence was found in birds and fish. Our study aimed to test this hypothesis by analyzing the relationship between cerebral lateralization and both single-task performance and dual-task efficiency in humans. We combined a dynamic Landmark task which is assumed to be primarily processed in the right hemisphere and a frequently used word generation task which is assumed to be primarily processed in the left hemisphere. For each task individual strength and direction of hemispheric lateralization was assessed using functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD). For each subject (15 women, 11 men), performance was measured in the two single-tasks and in the dual-task condition.Performance was not related to strength or direction of lateralization in single-tasks. With regard to dual-task efficiency, we found the expected advantage of having a typical lateralization pattern. Moreover, the results showed a slight negative, rather than a positive, relationship between strength of lateralization and dual-task efficiency. Further analysis showed that this negative relationship may only be present in subjects showing non-significant lateralization for one or both tasks. Therefore, the hypothesis that cerebral lateralization enhances human cognitive performance is too general: having two functions significantly lateralized to different hemispheres enhances dual-task efficiency, in this group strength of lateralized does not matter. However, if one or both functions are not significantly lateralized overall performance is worse and in this group, performance is negatively related to increased strength of lateralization. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Subjects :
- Parallel processing (psychology)
Male
Dual-task efficiency
Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
Evolution
Statistics as Topic
SPATIAL ATTENTION
Spatial Behavior
Neuropsychological Tests
Brain mapping
Vocabulary
behavioral disciplines and activities
Parallel processing hypothesis
Lateralization of brain function
Functional Laterality
COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Task (project management)
Landmark task
Behavioral Neuroscience
Young Adult
medicine
Humans
Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance
Word generation
SPECIALIZATION
Language
Brain Mapping
Transcranial doppler sonography
TRANSCRANIAL DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY
Brain
Ultrasonography, Doppler
RIGHT-HANDERS
Human brain
HEMISPHERIC LANGUAGE LATERALIZATION
EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS
ADVANTAGES
medicine.anatomical_structure
DOMINANCE
Cerebrovascular Circulation
Laterality
ASYMMETRY
Female
Psychology
psychological phenomena and processes
Functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (fTCD)
Visuospatial
Cognitive psychology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 01664328
- Volume :
- 217
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Behavioral Brain Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d923ee717876a78d540c9bbcfd6d4cff