TARGET DETECTION IN LEFT AND RIGHT HEMISPACE - EFFECTS OF POSITIONAL PRE-CUEING AND TYPE OF BACKGROUND

The two experiments reported here examined the degree to which detecti on of targets by the right hemisphere can be characterized as occurrin g at the global level and detection by the left hemisphere can be char acterized as occurring at the local level. Although the results provid ed some evidence for such a dichotomy, these hemispheric differences i n processing were modified by the overall configuration in which the i tem is embedded, the nature of the background, and whether a precue in dicates the probable location of the target. The findings are discusse d in relation to current theories of hemispheric differences in spatia l processing.