[Temperature asymmetry of the rat cerebral hemispheres]

The field potential and temperature of the cerebral cortex were studied in right-handed, left-handed, and ambidextrous rats. Temperature asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres was revealed, which proved to differ in rats with different types of interhemispheric asymmetry: the interhemispheric temperature gradient was maximal in left-handed rats, minimal in right-handed rats, and intermediate in ambidextrous rats. Both parameters of energy metabolism (field potential and temperature of the cerebral cortex) correlated with one another, and the structure of these statistically significant correlations was different in right-handed, left-handed, and ambidextrous rats. It is suggested that the previously known types of interhemispheric asymmetry--biochemical, neurophysiological, and organoelement--are based on differences in the intensity of energy-consuming processes in the cerebral hemispheres.