Sex differences in the relationship between children's emotional expression discrimination and their developing hemispheric lateralization.

Strength of lateralization for processing facial emotion becomes more right hemisphere lateralized throughout childhood, but sex differences in this development are not currently understood. This study examines patterns of lateralization for emotion discrimination in 185 6-10-year-olds. Strength of right hemisphere lateralization was stronger in the older children, and right hemisphere dominance emerged at around age 8. Children who were more strongly lateralized performed with greater accuracy on a behavioral test of emotion discrimination and this relationship was significant for boys but not girls, demonstrating that there is a relationship between lateralization and performance (particularly, the discrimination of emotions).