Comparative Neuropsychology of the Dual Brain: A Stroll through Animals' Left and Right Perceptual Worlds

Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1006/brln.2000.2303

Cited by 313 publications

(166 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…The hypothesis considered is that cognitive ability is enhanced by having a strongly lateralized brain. That is, general cognitive performance may be enhanced by having a brain that is largely, if not entirely, subdivided to process information differently on the left and right sides (i.e., with distinctly separate computational processes being carried out in the left and right hemispheres [10,11]). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Matter of Degree: Strength of Brain Asymmetry and Behaviour

Rogers

2017

Symmetry

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Abstract:Research on a growing number of vertebrate species has shown that the left and right sides of the brain process information in different ways and that lateralized brain function is expressed in both specific and broad aspects of behaviour. This paper reviews the available evidence relating strength of lateralization to behavioural/cognitive performance. It begins by considering the relationship between limb preference and behaviour in humans and primates from the perspectives of direction and strength of lateralization. In birds, eye preference is used as a reflection of brain asymmetry and the strength of this asymmetry is associated with behaviour important for survival (e.g., visual discrimination of food from non-food and performance of two tasks in parallel). The same applies to studies on aquatic species, mainly fish but also tadpoles, in which strength of lateralization has been assessed as eye preferences or turning biases. Overall, the empirical evidence across vertebrate species points to the conclusion that stronger lateralization is advantageous in a wide range of contexts. Brief discussion of interhemispheric communication follows together with discussion of experiments that examined the effects of sectioning pathways connecting the left and right sides of the brain, or of preventing the development of these left-right connections. The conclusion reached is that degree of functional lateralization affects behaviour in quite similar ways across vertebrate species. Although the direction of lateralization is also important, in many situations strength of lateralization matters more. Finally, possible interactions between asymmetry in different sensory modalities is considered.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Matter of Degree: Strength of Brain Asymmetry and Behaviour

Rogers

2017

Symmetry

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“…Lateralized animals have been shown to outperform nonlateralized ones in many circumstances ( Fabre-Thorpe et al 1993;McGrew & Marchant 1999; Gü ntü rkü n et al 2000; Rogers et al 2004), and researchers agree that a lateralized brain may confer several advantages: sparing neural tissue by avoiding duplication of functions in the two hemispheres ( Levy 1977); processing information in parallel (Rogers 2002;Rogers et al 2004); and preventing the simultaneous initiation of incompatible responses by allowing one hemisphere to have control over actions (especially in animals with laterally placed sensory organs, Andrew 1991;Vallortigara 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific competition and coordination in the evolution of lateralization

Ghirlanda

Frasnelli

Vallortígara

2008

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Recent studies have revealed a variety of left-right asymmetries among vertebrates and invertebrates. In many species, left-and right-lateralized individuals coexist, but in unequal numbers ('populationlevel' lateralization). It has been argued that brain lateralization increases individual efficiency (e.g. avoiding unnecessary duplication of neural circuitry and reducing interference between functions), thus counteracting the ecological disadvantages of lateral biases in behaviour (making individual behaviour more predictable to other organisms). However, individual efficiency does not require a definite proportion of left-and right-lateralized individuals. Thus, such arguments do not explain population-level lateralization. We have previously shown that, in the context of prey-predator interactions, population-level lateralization can arise as an evolutionarily stable strategy when individually asymmetrical organisms must coordinate their behaviour with that of other asymmetrical organisms. Here, we extend our model showing that populations consisting of left-and right-lateralized individuals in unequal numbers can be evolutionarily stable, based solely on strategic factors arising from the balance between antagonistic (competitive) and synergistic (cooperative) interactions.

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“…The domestic chick has been a very successful animal model system in neurobiology and in the study of early learning, particularly for studies on memory consolidation, brain asymmetries, and the neural bases of memory (Andrew, 1991;Rogers, 1996;Rogers & Andrew, 2002;Horn, 2004;Matsushima et al, 2003;Rose, 2000;Vallortigara, 2000;2006a). In addition, we believe it may prove to be an excellent model to adopt in order to tackle some classical issues in developmental psychology, offering a novel battle-ground for the empirical investigation of nature-nurture issues on the origins of knowledge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rudiments of mind: Insights through the chick model on number and space cognition in animals.

Vallortígara¹,

Regolin²,

Chiandetti³

et al. 2010

CCBR

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Studies on human infants, focused on the ontogenetic origins of knowledge, have provided evidence for a small set of separable systems of core knowledge dealing with the representation of objects, number, and space. We investigated core knowledge systems from a comparative perspective, making use of the domestic chick as a model system, and filial imprinting as a key to animal mind. Here, we discuss evidence showing precocious abilities in the chick for representing: (i) the cardinal and ordinal/sequential aspects of numerical cognition, and (ii) the distance, angle, and sense relations among extended surfaces in the surrounding layout. Some of the abilities associated with core knowledge systems of number and space were observed in the absence of (or with very reduced) visual experience, supporting a nativistic account of the origins of knowledge.

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Comparative Neuropsychology of the Dual Brain: A Stroll through Animals' Left and Right Perceptual Worlds

Cited by 313 publications

References 82 publications

A Matter of Degree: Strength of Brain Asymmetry and Behaviour

A Matter of Degree: Strength of Brain Asymmetry and Behaviour

Intraspecific competition and coordination in the evolution of lateralization

Rudiments of mind: Insights through the chick model on number and space cognition in animals.

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