Robert Miller

Otago Centre for Theoretical Studies in Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Axonal Conduction Time, Cerebral Laterality and the Integration of Perception

Study of cerebral laterality has been dominated by work defining psychological differences between the two hemispheres. There is little understanding of how these differences derive from basic biological (e.g. cellular) differences between the hemispheres. A theory has been developed (Miller, 1996) in which it is proposed that the range of conduction velocities in cortico-cortical axons differs between hemispheres. It is proposed that the left hemisphere has a richer repertoire of "delay lines" than the right, which has more rapidly conducting axons. This theory has implications for many aspects of computation by cortical tissue. In this talk the origin and basic postulates of the theory are described. Its implications for asymmetry of perceptual processes is discussed. Time/intensity integration is seen as dependent on temporal convergence possible in each hemisphere, and spans a longer time in left than right hemispheres.

This page was last updated on 16 Feb 2001.

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