Resting Brain Asymmetry and Affective Reactivity Aggregated Data Support the Right-Hemisphere Hypothesis

Neuropsychological evidence has given rise to alternative models on brain asymmetry in emotion, each with different implications concerning the biological basis of individual differences in affective responses. The present study tested these implications. Resting EEG and self-reported emotions after the presentation of film clips were collected on four occasions of measurement. Subjects with greater right-sided and smaller left-sided cortical activity reported greater intensities of felt emotions after the presentation of films irrespective of valence. This finding is in line with a recent formulation of the right-hemisphere hypothesis, which proposes that the right hemisphere may play an important role in the automatic generation of emotional responses, whereas the left hemisphere may be involved in the control and modulation of emotional reactions.