When Is a Word Not a Word?

The human ability to use language is one of the most remarkable features of the human species. Through speech and writing one communicates with astonishing complexity. Given this unique skill, one might expect that the human brains has developed certain areas that are specialized for language. McIntosh and Lobaugh discuss Stephan and colleagues study that presents neuroimaging evidence from human subjects suggesting that the functional split between the left and right hemispheres of the brain depends on what must be done with an incoming stimulus, rather than the nature of the stimulus itself.