ISSN:
1573-6792
Keywords:
Magnetoencephalography
;
Continuous recognition task
;
Words
;
Faces
;
Language
;
Hemispheric laterality
;
Temporal lobe
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to assess the degree of hemispheric activation in eleven normal, right-handed subjects with no history of neurological disorder or learning disability during performance of a word- and a face-recognition tasks. Neuromagnetic activity was recorded using a whole-head system, and the sources of the recorded magnetic fields were modeled as single equivalent current dipoles. Early (〈200 msec) cerebral activation, defined by the number of dipoles identified by the data-fitting algorithm, was localized in the occipital cortex during both tasks, as expected. During the language task, the extent of the later (〉200 msec) cerebral activation was approximately double in the left hemisphere in almost all subjects, involving temporal and temporoparietal areas. In contrast, during the face-recognition task, the corresponding activation was mostly symmetrical across the two occipital lobes, also involving the posterior-inferior aspect of the right temporal lobe. Our results suggest that the MEG is a suitable method of assessing noninvasively hemispheric specialization for language.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022270620396
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