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Behavioral laterality of the brain: support for the binary construct of hemisity
1John A Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii Honolulu, HI, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|October 9, 2013
Summary
New research introduces hemisity, a binary model of brain behavioral laterality, distinguishing between right-brain (RP) and left-brain (LP) orientations. This model reveals neuroanatomical differences and challenges societal conflation of sex and hemisity traits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Existing terms like hemispheric dominance and asymmetry inadequately describe binary thinking and behavioral styles.
- Split-brain studies since the 1950s suggested distinct right-brain (RP) and left-brain (LP) behavioral orientations.
- Previous hemisphericity research failed to confirm these differences due to a gradient model.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce hemisity as a novel, binary framework for understanding behavioral laterality.
- To quantitatively determine the right or left brain orientation of individuals.
- To investigate neuroanatomical and behavioral differences between hemisity subtypes.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative determination of right or left behavioral laterality in thousands of subjects.
- MRI scans to compare neuroanatomy between right-brain oriented (RP) and left-brain oriented (LP) groups.
- Analysis of behavioral preference questionnaire responses to identify trait differences.
Main Results:
- Identified two neuroanatomical differences: asymmetry in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and significantly larger corpus callosi in RPs compared to LPs.
- RPs and LPs exhibited opposite responses to forced-choice behavioral questions, indicating distinct trait patterns.
- Individuals with the same hemisity shared more personality traits than those of the same sex but different hemisity.
Conclusions:
- Hemisity provides a valid, binary model for behavioral laterality, supported by neuroanatomical evidence.
- The findings challenge societal conflation of sex and hemisity traits, suggesting distinct behavioral profiles.
- Hemisity sorting occurs in higher education and career choices, indicating its practical relevance for quantitative research.
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