Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Laterality. 2009 Nov;14(6):573-89. doi: 10.1080/13576500902734645. Epub 2009 Feb 27.
According to recent psycholinguistic theory conventional metaphors may be understood via categorisation whereas novel metaphors are understood via comparison processes. Furthermore, behavioural evidence suggests that the process of conventionalising novel metaphors is accompanied by a shift from comparison to categorisation. However, changes in correlative neuropsychological processing as a result of the conventionalisation of novel metaphors have not been tested. Previous studies have provided evidence for special right hemisphere involvement in the comprehension of two-word novel, but not conventional, metaphoric expressions. On the basis of the latter evidence we used the divided visual field technique to test the possibility that the conventionalisation of novel metaphors will be accompanied by a shift from right to left hemisphere processing. The results suggest that repeated exposure to novel metaphoric stimuli changes the pattern of hemispheric asymmetry.
根据最近的心理语言学理论，常规隐喻可以通过分类来理解，而新颖的隐喻则可以通过比较过程来理解。此外，行为证据表明，新颖隐喻的常规化过程伴随着从比较到分类的转变。然而，新颖隐喻常规化导致的相关神经心理处理变化尚未得到检验。先前的研究提供了证据，表明右半球特别参与理解两个词的新颖但非传统的隐喻表达。基于后一种证据，我们使用分视技术来检验新颖隐喻常规化是否会伴随着从右半球到左半球处理的转变。结果表明，反复接触新颖的隐喻刺激会改变大脑半球不对称的模式。
