ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the kinds of evidence from normal subjects that have led to the characterization of the left hemisphere as the 'language hemisphere'. The musical talents of the right hemisphere have led to the suggestion that a fundamental hemispheric dichotomy, at least in man, may be speech on the left side and the prosody of speech on the right. Right-hemisphere damage has long been known to lead to a high incidence of visuospatial problems and deficits in moving around in unfamiliar places – with or without the aid of a map. The relative weakness of right-hemisphere superiorities at various visuospatial tasks suggests that the unilaterality of the relevant cognitive functions is not as essential nor as absolute as that involved in language. Although the empirical issue remains uncertain, it is worth noting that a 'language/context' dichotomy suggests an interesting hemispheric asymmetry in the Japanese language.
