Abstract
For much of our everyday activity, the two hemispheres of the brain work together; however, previous research in lateralization of the hemispheres has shown they are also specialized for different tasks. Historical work has typically focused on the dichotomy between left and right hemispheres with respect to linguistic abilities. Still, other research suggests a visual information-processing dichotomy in that the left hemisphere is superior at processing categorical visual information and the right hemisphere is specialized for processing spatial visual information. In addition, when using Navon figures (larger letters composed of smaller letters), performance for the global information was better when presented to the right hemisphere while performance for the local information was better when presented to the left hemisphere. In two experiments, we examined a possible right and left hemisphere difference in change detection performance. In Experiment 1, observers attempted to detect a change to an array of three shapes presented to either the left or right visual field. The change (that occurred on some of the trials) was either the same array with three new shapes (identity change) or an array of the same shapes in three different positions (configuration change). Reaction time was faster for presentation to the right hemisphere for both types of change, while accuracy was better for identity changes overall. To account for participant predictions, in Experiment 2, observers viewed stimuli on both sides and had to decide if the change occurred in the right or left side. For reaction time, there was a significant interaction between change type and hemisphere; identity changes were detected faster when processed by the left hemisphere, but this also occurred in the right hemisphere, albeit not to the same degree. Taken together, these experiments partially suggest differences in right and left hemisphere processing of different types of changes.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2014