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Mediated priming in the cerebral hemispheres.
1Linfield College, McMinnville, OR, USA.
Brain and Cognition
|November 11, 2003
Summary
This study examined brain hemisphere differences in word meaning activation. Contrary to theories of asymmetrical representation, results indicate equivalent semantic field activation in both the right and left hemispheres.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Theories of lexical representation propose asymmetrical semantic coding between the right and left brain hemispheres.
- Specifically, the right hemisphere is hypothesized to have a more diffuse representation, activating a broader semantic field than the left hemisphere.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hemispheric differences in mediated priming, a task sensitive to semantic network activation.
- To test the hypothesis of asymmetrical lexical representation between the right and left hemispheres.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a mediated (two-step) priming paradigm to assess semantic activation across distant prime-target pairs.
- Compared the magnitude of direct and mediated priming effects between the right and left cerebral hemispheres.
Main Results:
- No significant difference was observed in the magnitude of mediated priming between the right and left hemispheres.
- Direct priming effects also showed no hemispheric asymmetry.
Conclusions:
- The findings challenge theories positing asymmetrical lexical representations between the hemispheres.
- Suggests equivalent semantic field activation and lexical representation in both the right and left hemispheres.
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