Functional Lateralization for Auditory Temporal Processing in Male and Female Rats

In 3 studies adult male rats showed significantly better discrimination of tone sequences with the right ear than with the left ear. This result parallels similar findings of left-hemisphere specialization for auditory temporal processing in humans and nonhuman primates. Furthermore, because clinica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral neuroscience 1993-10, Vol.107 (5), p.844-850
Main Authors: Fitch, Roslyn Holly, Brown, Christine P, O'Connor, Kevin, Tallal, Paula
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animal behavior
Animal Sex Differences
Animals
Attention - physiology
Auditory Discrimination
Auditory Pathways - physiology
Auditory Stimulation
Biological and medical sciences
Dominance, Cerebral - physiology
Ear and associated structures. Auditory pathways and centers. Hearing. Vocal organ. Phonation. Sound production. Echolocation
Ears & hearing
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Lateral Dominance
Male
Neurology
Pitch Discrimination - physiology
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Reaction Time - physiology
Rodents
Sex Factors
Time Perception - physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:In 3 studies adult male rats showed significantly better discrimination of tone sequences with the right ear than with the left ear. This result parallels similar findings of left-hemisphere specialization for auditory temporal processing in humans and nonhuman primates. Furthermore, because clinical evidence supports a link between specialization of the left hemisphere for auditory temporal processing and for speech processing, these results may reflect evolutionary precursors to left-hemisphere language specialization. Because male rats showed a stronger ear advantage than female rats, the findings may relate to evidence of a stronger right ear advantage in men than in women. Finally, results suggest that neonatal handling enhances lateralization for auditory temporal processing in both sexes. Combined results implicate neuroendocrine mechanisms as important factors in the development of lateralization for auditory temporal processing.
ISSN:0735-7044
1939-0084
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.107.5.844