Peripheral and Cerebral Asymmetries in the Rat
Nicholas P. LaMendola,
Thomas G. Bever
*
Rats learn a novel foraging pattern better with their right-side
whiskers than with their left-side whiskers. They also learn better
with the left cerebral hemisphere than with the right hemisphere. Rotating an already learned maze relative to the external environment most strongly reduces right-whisker performance; starting an already learned maze at a different location most strongly reduces left-whisker performance. These results suggest that the
right-periphery-left-hemisphere system accesses a map-like
representation of the foraging problem, whereas the
left-periphery-right-hemisphere system accesses a rote path. Thus, as
in humans, functional asymmetries in rats can be elicited by both
peripheral and cortical manipulation, and each hemisphere makes
qualitatively distinct contributions to a complex natural behavior.
N. P. LaMendola, Department of Psychology, University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
T. G. Bever, Program in Cognitive Science, University of Arizona,
Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
