ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some aspects of lateralization and its importance for certain functions. The lateralization of the brain is an area of particular theoretical dispute, and much of the theory in the area is speculative in nature. The hemispheric asymmetry develops at an early foetal stage, long before the differentiation of the neocortex, and the cortical asymmetry between left and right hemisphere springs from the modulation of functions all the way from the reticular activation system, which is similarly lateralized. The evolutionary advantage of brain lateralization has long been the topic of speculation, and it is generally believed that lateralization has developed in order to make room for new skills without the loss of existing skills. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has different representations in the two hemispheres, and the forms of consciousness in the two hemispheres are qualitatively different. The limbic system is also lateralized, and in the human brain emotional facial expressions are processed in the right hemisphere.
