"Hemispheric Organization: One Mind and Plasticity to Boot"
Abstract: In this talk, I will set out a general view that asserts that the two hemispheres are functionally differentiated and that this organization is largely predetermined or innately prespecified. Using visual pattern recognition as the behavior of interest, I will address the question of brain-behavior correspondences in the two hemispheres. I will present data from children and adults, in health and disease, acquired from psychophysics, neuroimaging and electrophysiology investigations, that indicate that the hemispheres are more alike than previously assumed and that common computational principles underlie hemispheric development and organization. Moreover, with both cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from children who have undergone large cortical resection, I will describe the microgenesis of plasticity and the capabilities of a single cortical hemisphere.