[Right prefrontal cerebral hemispheric activation by symmetrical carotid sinus baroreceptor stimulation]

This study was performed to test the hypothesis of greater right hemispheric involvement in the processing of signals related to baroreceptor stimuli. Carotis sinus baroreceptors were stimulated by rhythmically decreasing air pressure in a neck chamber, and as a control the thorax was stimulated in a similar manner. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were measured by positron emission tomography (PET). Baroreceptor stimulation resulted in rCBF increase in the right anterior-inferior prefrontal cortex (Brodmann areas [BA] 10/44/47) and bilaterally in BA 6/8. The authors conclude that, at least in some stages of baroreceptor information processing, the right hemisphere plays a greater role than the left one.