The Knowing Hand

Abstract

It is now well known that among over 90% of the right-handed population, and 75% of those who are left-handed, the left cerebral hemisphere provides the neural foundations for the comprehension and expression of grammatically complex spoken language. The left half of the brain dominates in the perception and processing of real words, word lists, rhymes, numbers, Morse code, consonants, consonant vowel syllables, nonsense syllables, the transitional elements of speech, and single phonemes. It is also dominant for recognizing phonetic, conceptual, and verbal (but not physical) similarities, for example, determining if two letters (g and p vs. g and q) have the same vowel ending.1