Interhemispheric asymmetry of associative responses in the cat parietal cortex.

The asymmetry of associative responses in the parietal region of the cortex was experimentally studied during visual and auditory stimulation of tubocurarine-immobilized cats at various intensities with the multiple recording of evoked potentials (EP). The left-handed asymmetry of the early and late components of associative responses was established. It was shown that the zones of convergence of visual and auditory information are also asymmetric and predominate in the left hemisphere. By contrast to the projection regions, no strength or transcallosal modulation of the interhemispheric asymmetry could be found in the parietal cortex. The data obtained indicate the applicability of the principle of functional asymmetry to the activity of paired segments of associative cortical systems in animals.