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Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...

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Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
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Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Published on: June 29, 2021

What does the right hemisphere know about phoneme categories?

Michael Wolmetz¹, David Poeppel, Brenda Rapp

¹Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. mikew@jhu.edu

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

|March 31, 2010

Summary

The right hemisphere

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Auditory Perception

Background:

Speech perception relies on phonemic categories, with models typically assigning this function to the left hemisphere.
Previous research, including fMRI and lesion studies, supports left-hemisphere dominance in phonemic analysis.

Observation:

This study used fMRI to investigate right hemisphere involvement in phonemic processing.
A case study of a patient with a left-hemisphere lesion, reliant on the right hemisphere for speech analysis, was also conducted.

Findings:

Right hemisphere phonemic sensitivity was observed, but only within a lexical context.
The right hemisphere alone was insufficient for typical phonemic category effects, though it supported gradient phonetic processing in lexical contexts.

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Last Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

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Implications:

These findings suggest the right temporal cortex is not primary for phoneme processing.
Lexical context may modulate right hemisphere engagement in processing less abstract speech signal dimensions.