Cite as:
Peyrin C, Guyader N, Chauvin A, Marendaz C, 2003, "Time course of the hemispheric specialisation in spatial-frequency processing" Perception 32 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Time course of the hemispheric specialisation in spatial-frequency processing

C Peyrin, N Guyader, A Chauvin, C Marendaz

As suggested by the visual-spatial-frequency model of cerebral asymmetry (Grabowska and Nowicka, 1996 Psychological Bulletin 120 434 - 449), hemispheric specialisation is a dynamic system, wherein the superiority of one hemisphere over the other could change according to cognitive constraints. We have investigated this potential dynamic as a function of temporal constraints in scene-perception framework. Participants were asked to match a test scene to a priming scene. Priming scene was always unfiltered, displayed in the central visual field. Prime display times varied from one session to the other (30 ms or 150 ms). Test scenes were low-pass filtered or high-pass filtered and were presented in the left visual field/right hemisphere (LVF/RH) or in the right visual field/left hemisphere (RVF/LH) for 100 ms. Results showed (i) the classic hemispheric specialisation for spatial-frequency processing (ie a LVF/RH superiority in low-pass filter processing and a RVF/LH superiority in high-pass filter processing) when temporal constraints were strong, and (ii) a LVF/RH advantage whatever the spatial-frequency components of the test scene when temporal constraints were reduced. This temporal dynamic of hemispheric specialisation could reflect the setting up of an inhibition process from the right to the left cortex in priming-scene processing. When temporal constraints are strong, a between-hemispheric inhibition has no time to be effective and each hemisphere is working in parallel, extracting what it can from the image in relation to its spatial-frequency aptitudes. The hypothesis of an inhibition by the magnocellular pathway is currently examined by a functional neuroimaging study.

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