Upper/lower visual field asymmetry on a spatial relocation memory task

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the lower visual field advantage reported on a number of visual tasks depends on the activity of neural systems which process information from different spaces. To this end , a double dissociation logic was followed by observing the effects of visu al and spatial interference on a relocation memory task performed by 80 vol unteers. Results showed that participants were better at relocating stimuli presented in the lower than in the upper visual field. Moreover, a concurr ent spatial task, but not a concurrent visual task, disrupted the visual fi eld vertical asymmetry. Those findings confirm that the vertical asymmetry of visual field depends on the spatial processing of incoming stimuli. Neur oReport 12:1227-1230 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.