ABSTRACT
The methods used to investigate lateral differences for face processing in normal subjects can often be adapted for use with children, thus allowing the possibility of investigating the development of functional asymmetries in the normal, intact brain. This enterprise is of value in two distinct ways. Firstly, it increases our understanding of human development and the cerebral processes involved. Secondly, it increases our understanding of the mechanisms used in face processing by adults, because with increased knowledge of how these mechanisms are developed we are better able to understand their limits and their potential for further change. The importance of the topic perhaps can be most clearly seen in attempts to rehabilitate adults or children who have suffered cerebral injuries, where the kinds of technique that are thought likely to be of use will be heavily dependent on current conceptions of how the cerebral mechanisms involved in face processing are developed in the uninjured brain.
