Familial Sinistrality and Language Processing
Journal
Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory
Journal Volume
68
Pages
143-177
Date Issued
2018
Author(s)
Abstract
An increasing number of studies have revealed striking within- and between-individual differences in language processing even in healthy native speakers, suggesting higher heterogeneity of the neurological and cognitive mechanisms involved in language processing than typically assumed. One of the prominent explanatory factors for this variability that has been highlighted in the literature is familial sinistrality (i.e., whether or not one has left handed biological relatives). Presence and absence of familial sinistrality has been associated with different consequences after unilateral brain lesions and different response patterns in language comprehension and memory tasks, as assessed with behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological measures. While one of the consensuses regarding familial sinistrality is its association with reduced language asymmetry, there are still open questions regarding the nature and the neurological basis of this tendency toward bi-lateralization. As is reviewed in this chapter, familial sinistrality provides a window for examining the possible variations of how neural mechanisms are coordinated across the hemispheres, and this literature suggests that the orchestration of neurological and cognitive mechanisms involved in successful language processing may be more dynamic and adaptive within and across individuals than previously thought.
SDGs
Type
journal article