Anomaly detection in the right hemisphere: The influence of visuospatial factors

Previous research with both brain-damaged and neurologically intact populations has demonstrated that the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) is superior to the left cerebral hemisphere (LH) at detecting anomalies (or incongruities) in objects (Ramachandran, 1995; Smith, Tays, Dixon, & Bulman-Fleming, 2002). The current research assesses whether the RH advantage for anomaly detection is due to the RH superiority for visuospatial skills or is a distinct cognitive process. Sixty undergraduate participants completed tasks assessing anomaly detection, mental rotation, and global and local perceptual abilities. The results demonstrate that anomaly detection is negatively correlated with mental rotation. These findings suggest that anomaly detection is not simply a function of visuospatial skills.