Handedness and Cerebral Hemispheric Differences in Memory for Pictorial Organization

Abstract

Handedness and cerebral hemispheric differences were investigated with regard to the way pictorial information is stored in long-term memory. Left- and right-handed men were required to remember a series of pictorial scenes that were organized or unorganized with respect to real-world configurations. Memory for these scenes was measured with half-field presentations of detail probes and whole-scene probes. There were no differences between the two visual fields in latency. An Organization x Probe interaction was found for accuracy scores for positive responses in the right visual field but not the left visual field. Furthermore, a three-way interaction (Organization x Probe x Visual Field) was significant among right-handers but not among left-handers. Findings are discussed in terms of hemispheric differences in long-term memory and hemispheric specialization referring to handedness.