Research on spatial thinking impairments, with special reference to right-left orientation, visuomotor and visuoconstructive performances, and finger recognition are examined. It is concluded that, although some dyslexic children do show spatial disabilities, there is little evidence to support the existence of a visuospatial type of developmental…

The authors consider recent research on brain lateralization in learning disabled children that has used three different experimental paradigms, noting that these studies have advanced knowledge about factors that can affect performance on the tasks that measure lateralization, but they do not produce a conclusive picture of abnormal…

The paper relates early work of Samuel Orton on cerebral dominance to current neuropsychological concepts of laterality as reciprocal functions of the two cerebral hemispheres. The genetic-cultural perspectives of laterality and functional asymmetry in relation to learning disorders are discussed. (Author/CL)

Reviews the relevant background on brain organization in left-handers, describing Levy and Reid's findings and other studies relevant to the area of research. (Author/RH)

How "differences" between the two sides of the brain (or "laterality") relate to level of function are important components of theories of the origin and purpose of hemispheric asymmetry, although different measures show different relationships, and this heterogeneity makes discerning any underlying relationships a difficult…

Research is reviewed concerning the current state of knowledge about normal hemispheric specialization; distinctions among such terms as dominance, laterality, and lateralization; and models of abnormal cerebral organization in dyslexic children. The question of dyslexic subtypes is undertaken along such dimensions as handedness, eyedness, and…

The human brain is lateralized, different functions being housed in each hemisphere. Several assumptions which are mistakenly considered fact by researchers include: (1) the left hemisphere is for rational functions, while the right is for intuitive functions; (2) the hemispheres do not interact as well with each other as they should; (3) the use…

To determine whether the idea is empirically supported that the majority of left-handers were intellectually inferior to right-handers, current research was examined. Inquiry indicated that the cognitive performance of left-handers was not significantly lower. (Author/CM)

In the article, contributions to the study of a link between autism and left hemisphere damage are systematically reviewed. A simple cause-and-effect model of abnormal cerebral asymmetry and autism is rejected in favor of a more integrative yet parsimonious model that specifically attempts to explain the language disorder common to autism.…

States that hemispheric preference literature reveals mostly marginally significant data--different ways of probing human thought processing exist and various mistakes can sometimes account for borderline data. Elaborates the Sonnier Model of Hemispheric Preferences (SMHP) which may provide clarification and more fruitful research questions and…

This document discusses the problem of teachers who teach primarily to the left hemisphere of the brain, not allowing the right-brain dominant student to expand his creative ability. It presents information about brain structure and function for educators. A glossary of 25 terms is provided with sources of the definitions. Annotations summarizing…

Reviews pertinent developmental and neuropsychological literature and arrives at a hypothesis relating the left brain lateralization of speech to the origin of early naming as part of selective (right-biased) orienting to perceived salience or change. (Author/SS)

This paper synthesizes the implications from hemispheric lateralization studies with the concerns and potentials of visual literacy. An overview of hemispheric lateralization research is provided, including summaries of four illustrative studies: Galin and Ornstein; Levy, Trevarthen, and Sperry; Zaidel; and Molfese. The appositional and holistic…

This paper examines the influence of Norman Geschwind's model of connectionism, in which complex functions are built up by connecting primary areas in the brain, and notes his studies of the effects of disconnection on dyslexic individuals. Connectionist-based behavioral studies are reviewed, focusing on intracortical association connections and…

Reviews research on cerebral asymmetry in hearing persons, clinical studies on lateralization and sign language, and experimental research on cerebral asymmetry in deaf persons. (AM)