This paper presents background information, an introductory statement of theoretical positions, and brief abstracts of research papers from a symposium on the functional specialization of cerebral hemispheres in infants and children. According to one view of the development of cerebral specialization, the two hemispheres are initially unspecialized, assuming their respective functions only with time and experience. The opposing view is that hemispheric specialization is a product of genetic endowment present, in some form, from the beginning of life. The five research papers summarized included some concrete evidence related to these views: (1) a study of hemispheric specialization for both speech and nonspeech sounds in infants; (2) a study of the relationship between the size of cerebral injury and the pattern of cognitive skills in adult patients who sustained brain injury during infancy; (3) an examination of hemispheric specialization for language in preschool and primary-grade children; (4) a study of hand specialization for shape discrimination in 3- to 13-year olds using the dichotic listening procedure for the haptic system; and (5) a discussion of the interaction of experiential and genetic factors in the patterning of cognitive abilities in normal individuals. (Author/JMB)