EEG correlates of behavioural laterality: ear dominance

Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Apr;94(2):355-62. doi: 10.2466/pms.2002.94.2.355.

Abstract

To examine whether ear dominance in a dichotic pitch-discrimination task is associated with asymmetrical activation of the two cortical hemispheres, ear dominance scores and electroencephalographic (EEG) laterality were correlated in two independent samples (ns=46 and 128). The results indicate that ear dominance can partly be attributed to a relatively stronger activation of the contralateral prefrontal cortex. The observed association may reflect the tendency to direct attention preferably to one ear.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiology*
  • Dichotic Listening Tests*
  • Dominance, Cerebral / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography*
  • Female
  • Fourier Analysis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pitch Discrimination / physiology*
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
  • Reference Values
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted