CEREBRAL HEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES IN PROCESSING LEXICAL METAPHORS

This study investigated semantic priming for literal (stinging-mosquit o) and metaphoric (stinging-insult) associates presented to either the left or right visual fields (RVF/LVF) across stimulus-onset-asynchron ies (SOA) of 200 and 800 ms. For the short SOA condition, facilitation was found for metaphorically related targets in both visual fields (V Fs) while literally related targets were facilitated only in the RVF. For the long SOA condition, metaphorically related targets were facili tated in the LVF whereas literally related targets were facilitated in the RVF. These results support previous findings indicating an enhanc ed role of the RH in metaphoric comprehension. In addition, the presen t results are in accordance with current models of hemispheric semanti c processing. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.