It Is All Quiet in the Minor Hemisphere: A Fresh Look into the Laterality of Consciousness, Vision and Attention in Human Brain Abstract: This is a meta-analysis of the literature on laterality of motor control in relation to vision, neglect

This is a meta-analysis of the literature on laterality of motor control in relation to vision, neglect and attention. It documents the role directionality of signal transfer between the two hemispheres. By indexing cases in which macular vision was spared or damaged in lesions affecting the minor or major hemispheres, respectively, it is shown that the minor hemisphere’s role is to dilate (extend) the space in which vision occurs rather than provide for elementary aspect of vision. The statistical relationship of the laterality of seeing and speaking to that of behavioral handedness of subjects in studies employing inspection time and lexical decision paradigms are reviewed; further defining the distinction between the two modes of handedness(i.e. behavioral and neural). Evidence is provided indicating that brainedness (i.e. the laterality of the executive hemisphere) stands for the destination of all signals achieving consciousness and that the minor hemisphere represents three-dimensional reality of space. Awareness to that reality, however, awaits arrival of signals arising from the nondominant side of the body/space to the major hemisphere via the posterior aspect of the callosum. This explains the fact that neglect occurs exclusively in lesions affecting the minor hemisphere, as defined in this article. This is a comprehensive review of clinical, neuropathological and physiological data indicating that macular vision occurs in the major hemisphere and that handedness itself is a reflection of the laterality of conscious awareness.