VIDEO-TASK ASSESSMENT OF STIMULUS NOVELTY EFFECTS ON HEMISPHERIC LATERALIZATION IN BABOONS (PAPIO-PAPIO)

In a video matching-to-sample task, we examined the effects of stimulu s novelty on hemispheric specialization in 6 baboons (Papio papio). Af ter familiarization with a set of 8 composite stimuli, baboons were te sted with either familiar stimuli paired in a novel way, novel stimuli composed of familiar elements, or novel stimuli differing in structur e from the previous stimuli. Analyses focused on visual field differen ces between initial and later trials in each condition. The findings r eflected shorter left than right visual half-field response times for initial but not for terminal trials. With regard to accuracy, scores w ere smaller for the initial trials than for the later ones, but there was no significant difference between left and right visual half-field s. Overall, this study suggests that hemispheric lateralization change s with practice and that the right hemisphere of the baboon plays a cr itical role in the processing of novelty.