Evidence for a New Conceptualization of Semantic Representation in the Left and Right Cerebral Hemispheres

Two experiments are reported that examined qualitative differences in how semantic information is represented in the two hemispheres. In the first experiment, items that were associatively related but did not share semantic features or membership in semantic categories produced priming when delivere...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cortex 2004, Vol.40 (3), p.467-478
Main Authors: Deacon, Diana, Grose-Fifer, Jillian, Yang, Chien-Ming, Stanick, Virginia, Hewitt, Sean, Dynowska, Anna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
association
Association Learning - physiology
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Cues
ERP
features
Female
Functional Laterality
Humans
left hemisphere
Male
Mental Processes - physiology
Middle Aged
N400
Photic Stimulation
priming
Reaction Time
Recognition (Psychology)
Reference Values
right hemisphere
Semantics
Vocabulary
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Summary:Two experiments are reported that examined qualitative differences in how semantic information is represented in the two hemispheres. In the first experiment, items that were associatively related but did not share semantic features or membership in semantic categories produced priming when delivered to the LH (RVF) but not to the RH (LVF). In the second experiment items that shared semantic features but were neither associates nor in the same category produced priming in the RH (LVF), but not in the LH (RVF). Together, the two experiments support the theory that, in the right hemisphere, semantic memories are represented within a distributed system, on the basis of semantic features, whereas, in the left hemisphere representations are, as in local models, relatively more holistic, and are connected via associative links.
ISSN:0010-9452
1973-8102
DOI:10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70140-0