Brain functional asymmetry and neural organization of linguistic competence

Neural organization of linguistic competence in the light of brain functional asymmetry was studied in patients after unilateral electroconvulsive therapy. We have gathered further evidence that the cerebral hemispheres play essentially different roles: the right hemisphere operates largely with extralinguistic reality and is responsible for the ideational (intentional) level, initiating the process of speech production. It relates sign to its referent; its syntax is the word order. The left hemisphere interrelates signs; it refines and ultimately completes the process of speech production. The right hemispheric linguistic competence demonstrates the most universal linguistic abilities, whereas left hemispheric competence probably reveals the features of national languages.