Cerebral Lateralization and Some Implications for Art, Aesthetic Perception, and Artistic Creativity

The functional left-right asymmetry of the human brain (Table 1) appears to be determined, at least in part, by genetic factors. Hemispheric laterality found in some birds and subhuman primates1,2, statistics on structural asymmetry of cerebral hemispheres in human neonates3, the well-documented clinical studies on functional asymmetries as revealed by localized brain lesions4–8, and the findings on congenital left-handedness correlated with speech dominance of the right hemisphere provide the main evidence supporting this premise (see chapter 9). The following considerations ensue from these ideas. Before we discuss the possible effects of left-right brain asymmetry on aesthetic performance in the second part of this paper, we shall present some thoughts on potential environmental factors in the development of left-right asymmetry in the human brain, which are believed to modify the genetically controlled postnatal brain development.9