PHYSIOLOGICAL-RESPONSES TO VERBALLY INACCESSIBLE PICTORIAL INFORMATION IN THE LEFT AND RIGHT HEMISPHERES

The effects of brief pictorial information on transfer between the cerebral hemispheres were investigated through recordings of skin conductance responses. The stimuli had been judged previously as neutral, positive, or negative by an independent group of participants. The verbally accessible (VA) stimuli were neutral, whereas the brief, verbally inaccessible (VI) stimuli were positive or negative. The VA and VI stimuli were presented simultaneously, in the same visual half-field (intrahemispheric), or in the opposite visual half-held (interhemispheric). In a 3rd condition, there were only VA stimuli in either visual field. The right hemisphere was especially sensitive to negative VI presentations in both the inter- and intrahemispheric groups. The left hemisphere showed a corresponding sensitivity to positive stimuli. but only in the interhemispheric group. These findings confirm the hemispheric roles in mediating positive versus negative emotions and show that left-to-right transfer can take place without linguistic cognition.