Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry
Volume 25, Issue 6 , Pages 741-750, November 1986

Development and Biological Associations of Cerebral Dominance: Review and Possible Mechanisms

  • STEVEN C. SCHACHTER, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationRequests for reprints should be directed to Steven C. Schachter, M.D., Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Hospital, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215
    • ,
  • ALBERT M. GALABURDA, M.D.

From the Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, and Department of Neurology, the Charles A. Dana Research Laboratory and the Dyslexia Research Laboratory, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston

Article Outline

The study of cerebral dominance began as an esoteric field of inquiry to a few workers interested in behavior and has increasingly involved the thinking of investigators in many branches of science, including psychiatry, psychology, neurology and the neurosciences, education, and sociology. Recent advances have shown that cerebral dominance is deeply embedded in a biological process that affects not only behavior, but the constitution of the body as a whole. Furthermore, cerebral dominance is not uniquely human and pertains to the biology of non-human species, including other mammals, through amphibians and fishes. The purposes of this article are to review the anatomic basis and biological associations of cerebral dominance and to consider several working hypotheses related to the development of cerebral asymmetry and its manifestations.

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PII: S0002-7138(09)60191-6

doi:10.1016/S0002-7138(09)60191-6

Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry
Volume 25, Issue 6 , Pages 741-750, November 1986

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