Cerebral laterality and emotion: The neurology of depression

Differential specialization of the cerebral hemispheres for cognitive functioning is well established. A converging body of clinical and experimental studies conducted with brain-damaged patients, normal subjects, and psychiatric patients is reviewed which indicates that there is also hemispheric asymmetry in the regulation of emotional behavior. These data indicate that the right hemisphere may be uniquely specialized for the perception, experience, and expression of emotion. Theories to account for this hemispheric asymmetry are reviewed and a right-hemisphere dominance model is proposed. Future studies are outlined to further our understanding of the neuroanatomic basis of emotion. The recognition that the right hemisphere may be specialized for mediating emotion may have clinical implications.