In Battle For Attention, Left Side Of Brain Wins Over The Right, UF Resear...( rch conducted in Heilman's laboratory....),Health

"The way the brain is set up, images viewed on the left go directly to the right side of the brain for processing," Heilman said. It stands to reason, then, that what is viewed on the left side would really grab your attention because it goes right to the hemisphere that is dominant for attentional functions."

In an age when scientific research often requires expensive imaging systems or other high-technology devices, Barrett's experiment is notable for the simplicity of its design. The equipment included a laser pointer and four lines of different lengths, which were shown repeatedly to nine research participants. Each participant viewed the lines at distances of 1 foot and 5.5 feet. Only right-handed people participated, because the brains of left- and right-handers can differ in how they distribute functions between the left and right hemispheres.

"We asked the participants to use the laser pointer to indicate the middle of the line segments," Barrett said. "I stood quietly to either the left or the right of the line to see whether a stimulus that was irrelevant to their task -- myself -- affected their performance."

Each participant performed 48 line bisections. They consistently misjudged the center by placing it farther to the left than it actually was.

"What was particularly interesting, however, was that in far space, their error to the left was influenced by where I stood," Barrett said. "Subjects pointed about 3 inches farther leftward when I was standing on the left than when I stood on the right of the far line."

The lines used at the far distance were about 48.5 and 53 inches long.

"If you're driving 30 mph under optimum conditions, and something distracts you in far left s
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Contact: Victoria White
vickiwhite@xtalwind.net
352-344-2738
University of Florida
5-Mar-1999