Abstract
To investigate interhemispheric transfer of language information in left-handed participants, event-related potentials were recorded during a semantic matching task. The stimuli were prime and target word pairs sequentially presented to either the left (LVF) or the right (RVF) visual field. A posterior slow negative shift (SNp) preceding target presentation was measured as an index of storage of language information and an N400 attenuation elicited for targets was used to analyze the priming effect. The SNp developed over both hemispheres for RVF primes, whereas for LVF primes it declined over the left hemisphere. The N400 attenuation was larger in the right hemisphere than in the left hemisphere. The lateralized pattern of the SNp development and the N400 attenuation, which contrasts with the previous finding in right handers (Kato & Okita, 2008), suggests that the transfer of language information from the dominant hemisphere to the nondominant hemisphere is reduced.
