The Geschwind–Behan–Galaburda Model (GBGM) of Cerebral Lateralization: A Critique and Prospective

Abstract

In the wake of, and as a complement to, a recently published major meta-analytic review of empirical support of the Geschwind–Behan–Galaburda model (GBGM) of cerebral lateralization (CL) the present brief essay attempts to present a critical assessment of the theoretical approach underlying the GBGM. The GBGM is criticized for having been misguided in its representation of the cerebral basis of handedness, and of the links between testosterone and immune function. Some guidelines are presented for the development of a general theory of CL, emphasizing animal research, greater interdisciplinary communication, a hierarchical model-building approach, and the relevance of neuropharmacology and psychiatry.

Vers un cadre neuropsychologique général pour le développement du nourrisson

“…Braun et Crépeau (1997) présentent, dans le chapitre sur l'affectivité de leur livre, une recension des indications d'asymétries des contributions souscorticales à l'humeur. Braun (1996) recense les indications, très nombreuses, d'asymétries sous-corticales de la répartition de divers neurotransmetteurs, chez plusieurs espèces de mammifères, incluant l'humain. Il faudra donc rester très prudents face à l'attrait de conclure à des spécialisations hémisphériques corticales du nouveau-né.…”

Prevalence, and Intellectual Outcome of Unilateral Focal Cortical Brain Damage as a Function of Age, Sex and Aetiology

“…The studies might not have paid enough attention to possible modulation of cognitive recovery by lesion side. These issues are not trivial for several reasons: 1) the female sex is known to manifest certain superiorities in the verbal domain [36] while the male sex is known to present an advantage in the spatial domain [15], 2) there are known asymmetries of hemispheric physiology and of hemispheric anatomy which are sex-specific (see [11] for a review). Most investigations did not comprise enough subjects to control for any of these variables.…”