Brugger P, Gamma A, Muri R, Schäfer M, Taylor K I
Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Zurich.
Percept Mot Skills. 1993 Dec;77(3 Pt 2):1299-308. doi: 10.2466/pms.1993.77.3f.1299.
30 right-handed subjects were given a lateralized tachistoscopic lexical-decision task. Subjects' belief in extrasensory perception (ESP) was assessed with a single six-point scale; 16 subjects were designated as believers in ESP and 14 subjects as nonbelievers. Believers in ESP did not exhibit a hemispheric asymmetry for the task while nonbelievers exhibited the expected right visual-field/left-hemisphere dominance documented in the literature. Believers' lack of asymmetry was not caused by an impaired left-hemisphere performance but rather by a significantly enhanced lexical-decision accuracy in the left visual field/right hemisphere compared to nonbelievers. These results are compatible with previous studies indicating a correlation between belief in ESP and a bias for right-hemisphere processing. Moreover, the results are relevant for a discussion of an association between paranormal beliefs and schizotypy: highly schizotypal individuals are not only particularly prone to believe in ESP but are also known to show an attenuation of hemispheric asymmetries in lateralized verbal tasks due to an enhanced contribution of the right hemisphere. We suggest that the neurological basis of delusion-like beliefs may involve a release of right-hemisphere function from left-hemisphere control and sketch the focus of research for a future "neuropsychology of belief."
30名右利手受试者接受了一项侧化速示器词汇判断任务。用一个六点量表评估受试者对超感官知觉（ESP）的信念；16名受试者被指定为ESP信徒，14名受试者为不信者。ESP信徒在该任务中未表现出半球不对称性，而不信者表现出文献中记载的预期的右视野/左半球优势。信徒缺乏不对称性并非由左半球表现受损所致，而是与不信者相比，他们在左视野/右半球的词汇判断准确性显著提高。这些结果与之前的研究结果一致，表明对ESP的信念与右半球加工偏好之间存在相关性。此外，这些结果对于讨论超自然信念与分裂型人格之间的关联具有重要意义：高度分裂型人格的个体不仅特别容易相信ESP，而且已知在侧化言语任务中由于右半球贡献增强而表现出半球不对称性减弱。我们认为，类似妄想信念的神经学基础可能涉及右半球功能从左半球控制中释放出来，并勾勒出未来“信念神经心理学”的研究重点。
