ABSTRACT
Early maturation of the right hemisphere would be consistent with the importance of emotional communication in early life. In the second year, the child’s increasing motor competence and rapid development of language skills suggests a major transition in brain maturation, with a shift toward left hemisphere dominance.… This may reflect a shift from close attentional as well as emotional dependence on the social environment, mediated by the right hemisphere, toward increasing articulation of cognitive and motor control, and increasing emotional and attentional autonomy, as the functional role of the left hemisphere is established.
