Electroencephalographic asymmetries in human cognition

Abstract

Electroencephalographic (EEG) measures provide high-quality information on the time course of brain activity during stimulus processing. This chapter highlights the contribution of EEG to the study of human asymmetries in cognition. In the first part, we discuss the main methodological issues related to EEG recording, and describe a distinction between Event-Related Potential (ERP) responses and induced frequency activity. In the second part, we review some key findings on human lateralization in perception, language, and emotion. We conclude with some recent attempts to combine EEG with other neuroimaging techniques in the study of lateralized cognitive functions.