ABSTRACT
My drift toward neuroscience continued. I joined the International Neuropsychological Society and in 2009 was the first person in the Southern Hemisphere to be elected its president. I presided at a meeting in Finland, and then at one in Acapulco, Mexico, at a time when the drug wars were at a peak, with Acapulco most affected - and potentially dangerous. We survived. I continued my interest in brain asymmetry, and the link between right-handedness and left-brain specialisation for language led me to revive an old theory that language itself evolved from manual gestures. This has remained a strong, albeit controversial, theme in my research and writing.
