Cognitive consequences of individual differences in arousal asymmetry

Resting EEG and behavioural correlates of interhemispheric transfer times

Correlations between the relative speeds of left-to-right and right-to-left interhemispheric transfer times and resting quantitative electroencephalography activity were examined in order to determine if variability in interhemispheric transfer was related to individual variability in resting neural firing patterns. Resting electroencephalograph frequencies for 32 participants were regressed for 4 frequency bands at 8 different locations calculated for asymmetrical activation through subtracting the left from right average spectral power of each. Participants also completed a series of behavioural tasks that are typically localized to the right hemisphere (RH). Results indicate that the frontal medial average spectral power of the beta band is correlated with the speed of transfer such that larger resting beta values in the right as compared to left location are associated with faster right-to-left interhemispheric transfer times and that larger resting beta values in the left as compared to right location are associated with faster left-to-right interhemispheric transfer times. Furthermore, enhanced performance on tasks typically localized to the RH is correlated with slower right-to-left interhemispheric transfer times, suggesting that the dominance of one hemisphere may come at a cost to interhemispheric communication.