Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 February 2010
The enigma of hemispheric specialization of the human brain continues to attract the attention of BBS readers. Although the lateralization of language is obviously specific to man, some scientists find the idea of human uniqueness unacceptable. Corballis and Morgan (1978) presented hemispheric dominance in man as a special case of a left-right maturational gradient, examples of which can be found throughout the animal kingdom. According to Denenberg, brain laterality can be induced in animals by nonlateralized environmental factors such as handling. Since nonlateralized influences can only unmask latent asymmetries, Denenberg's position is essentially similar to the views espoused by Corballis and Morgan (1978) and can, therefore, be criticized on the same grounds.