Lesley Rogers | University of New England - Australia (original) (raw)
Papers by Lesley Rogers
Behavioural Brain Research, 2005
Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, May 1, 1993
Currently there is an increase in the number of articles published in scientific journals and in ... more Currently there is an increase in the number of articles published in scientific journals and in the popular scientific media that claim a biological basis for sex differences in cognition and in certain structures in the brain. It can be argued that there is over-emphasis on the differences rather than similarities between the sexes, but it is even more important to question the assumed causation of the differences. This paper discusses recent evidence for an interactive role of early experience and hormonal condition in determining sex differences in brain structure and function. Although early studies using rats were thought to show that the male sex hormone, testosterone, acts on the brain in early life to direct its differentiation into either the male or female form, it is know known that this result comes about indirectly by changing the mother’s behaviour towards the pups. The hormone does not act on the brain directly but rather it alters the environment in which the young animals are rasied and this, in turn, influences the development of the brain. Indeed, the brain is in dynamic register with its environment both during development and in adulthood. Other examples also show that old ideas of rigid biological determination of brain structure and function need to be laid aside.The hypotheses for hormonal causation of sex differences humans rely heavily, if not exclusively, on the earlier interpretation of the experiments with rats, and there seems to be resistance to changing these notions based on the new discoveries. Apparently, there is strong pressure to cling on to biological determinist theories for sex differences in behaviour, and this has profound effects on social and educational policy. For example, biological determinism has been used to justify under representation of women in certain professions. Realisation of the dramatic effects that environmental stimulation and learning can have on the development of brain and behaviour leads us to an optimistic position for social change towards equality for women.
PubMed, Feb 13, 2019
After a distinguished career as a professor at Emory University and San Diego State University, t... more After a distinguished career as a professor at Emory University and San Diego State University, this left-handed author-whose mother was also a southpaw-examines left-handedness in the context of studies that have contested the classifications and meanings of disability, forcing researchers to re-examine their assumptions and attitudes about disability while challenging public policies aimed at them.
Laterality, 2011
The title is not at all clear before reading the book. Hence the need for a subtitle, and this su... more The title is not at all clear before reading the book. Hence the need for a subtitle, and this subtitle made me suspicious, as I am of any theory claiming to explain ‘‘all’’*the divided brain and the making of the western world? Those were my thoughts on opening this sizeable book. Yet I was soon captivated. It is written beautifully and referenced comprehensively. The author brings together his impressive knowledge of clinical psychiatry and an elegant expressive ability to present a most engaging book on the topic of hemispheric specialisation. It recounts the scientific evidence of lateralisation and then proposes shifting roles of the hemispheres during history from ancient to modern and post-modern times. The opening chapters introduce the reader to the separate specialisations of the left and right hemispheres. They include some mention of hemispheric specialisations in animals and then move swiftly on to discuss the specialised functions of the left and right hemispheres of the human brain. The author is clearly on familiar ground in discussing the effects of damage to one or other of the hemispheres on brain function and he presents a thorough and engaging account of the topic. Every point made is referenced: in fact, almost a quarter of the book’s pages are notes and bibliography. I found myself moving back and forth between the text and the notes, and marking references that I must look up. The bibliography is a valuable source for scholars in the field. Unfortunately I found the index less comprehensive: separate subject and author indices would have been valuable. Lateralisation in non-human animals is covered briefly and less well than its equivalent in humans. This is to be expected, given the author’s background and interests, but more could have been said about the similarities between the pattern of lateralisation in non-human and human vertebrates. The reader is introduced to the specialised functions of the hemispheres not in a simplistic way but with reference to the complexities and the interplay between the hemispheres’ separate ways of processing information. I found myself needing to draw up a table of the left versus right hemispheric LATERALITY, 2011, 16 (1), 125 128
Journal of Comparative Psychology, Aug 1, 2006
Routledge eBooks, Mar 5, 2018
Brain Research, Oct 1, 1974
Cab Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, 2011
Many vertebrate species are known to have a similar pattern of brain lateralization, often expres... more Many vertebrate species are known to have a similar pattern of brain lateralization, often expressed as eye preferences or side biases. Fear and aggression are specializations of the right hemisphere, expressed as left-side biases. The left hemisphere categorizes stimuli and follows learnt rules of behaviour. Here, it is argued that eye, ear and nostril preferences could be useful in interpreting cognitive processes of individual animals and beneficially applied to predicting behaviour and improving welfare. Knowledge of lateralization may be particularly useful in reducing accidents involving large animals (e.g. flight and aggression of horses is stronger on their left side). The right hemisphere is highlighted as being important in welfare since its activity involves stress responses and the expression of intense emotions. It is hypothesized that a balance between left and right hemisphere activity aids welfare by preventing aggression, excessive fear, depression or negative cognitive bias. Ideas on how a balance between the hemispheres might be reinstated in animals suffering chronic stress and persistent right-hemisphere dominance are discussed. Limb preferences may reflect hemispheric dominance and be associated with different temperaments or personalities, as first found in primates. A relationship between limb preference and temperament, as well as state of health, is also present in four-legged animals. Lateral biases in moving a medial appendage, as seen in the tail wagging of dogs, can indicate which hemisphere is dominant and could be a social signal valuable in assessing welfare. In conclusion, knowledge of lateralization may be applied constructively to improving animal welfare.
Progress in Brain Research, 2018
This chapter examines the importance of studying hand preference together with different expressi... more This chapter examines the importance of studying hand preference together with different expressions of behavior. Cognitive differences between left- and right-handed primates are discussed. As shown in several species of primate, eye preference, but not hand preference, is biased at the level of the population and reflects hemispheric asymmetry of processing. Hand preference, determined from simple grasping of pieces of food and taking them to the mouth, is consistent for individuals but it is not population biased. It is a measure of an individual's preference to use a particular hemisphere, and hence which cognitive processes are characteristic of the individual. Compared to left-handed subjects, right-handed subjects are more active in exploring novel objects, show more social facilitation of behavior, have a positive cognitive bias, and express lower levels of fear and stress responses. In marmosets, learning of food searching tasks is not associated with hand preference. Strength of hand preference, rather than its direction, is linked to the ability to perform two tasks at once, viz., detection of a predator while searching for food. Marmosets with strong hand preferences are able to perform these two tasks at once but those with weak or no hand preference are unable to do so.
Elsevier eBooks, 1986
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the sort of asymmetry, involving coupled or uncoupled he... more Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the sort of asymmetry, involving coupled or uncoupled hemispheres, which is important in certain sorts of learning (imprinting versus visual discrimination learning). Despite the fact that the structural asymmetry is an essential feature of avian embryogenesis, and is first evident in the asymmetrical migration of cells at the blastoderm stage, the avian brain has so far provided with only one example of structural asymmetry and this is of unknown functional significance. This is the asymmetry of the habenular nuclei in male chickens, in which the right nucleus is significantly larger than the left. In contrast, the avian brain has provided many striking examples of functional asymmetry. Study of asymmetry in the brain of birds has its own special merits for comparison with asymmetry in the mammalian brain, since birds thought have important decussations that interconnect the forebrain hemispheres; they lack the large corpus callosum characteristic of the mammalian brain.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, May 1, 1979
Elsevier eBooks, 2015
Differential control of behavior and information processing by the left and right hemispheres of ... more Differential control of behavior and information processing by the left and right hemispheres of the brain is now well known to be characteristic of a wide number of vertebrate species, thus overturning the long-held myth that it is unique to humans. Perhaps, even more unexpected has been the discovery that the pattern of lateralization in vertebrate species is fundamentally the same as that in humans. Research on animals is revealing important information about the development, evolution, causation, and function of this key aspect of brain organization.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Aug 1, 2021
Behavioural Brain Research, 2005
Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, May 1, 1993
Currently there is an increase in the number of articles published in scientific journals and in ... more Currently there is an increase in the number of articles published in scientific journals and in the popular scientific media that claim a biological basis for sex differences in cognition and in certain structures in the brain. It can be argued that there is over-emphasis on the differences rather than similarities between the sexes, but it is even more important to question the assumed causation of the differences. This paper discusses recent evidence for an interactive role of early experience and hormonal condition in determining sex differences in brain structure and function. Although early studies using rats were thought to show that the male sex hormone, testosterone, acts on the brain in early life to direct its differentiation into either the male or female form, it is know known that this result comes about indirectly by changing the mother’s behaviour towards the pups. The hormone does not act on the brain directly but rather it alters the environment in which the young animals are rasied and this, in turn, influences the development of the brain. Indeed, the brain is in dynamic register with its environment both during development and in adulthood. Other examples also show that old ideas of rigid biological determination of brain structure and function need to be laid aside.The hypotheses for hormonal causation of sex differences humans rely heavily, if not exclusively, on the earlier interpretation of the experiments with rats, and there seems to be resistance to changing these notions based on the new discoveries. Apparently, there is strong pressure to cling on to biological determinist theories for sex differences in behaviour, and this has profound effects on social and educational policy. For example, biological determinism has been used to justify under representation of women in certain professions. Realisation of the dramatic effects that environmental stimulation and learning can have on the development of brain and behaviour leads us to an optimistic position for social change towards equality for women.
PubMed, Feb 13, 2019
After a distinguished career as a professor at Emory University and San Diego State University, t... more After a distinguished career as a professor at Emory University and San Diego State University, this left-handed author-whose mother was also a southpaw-examines left-handedness in the context of studies that have contested the classifications and meanings of disability, forcing researchers to re-examine their assumptions and attitudes about disability while challenging public policies aimed at them.
Laterality, 2011
The title is not at all clear before reading the book. Hence the need for a subtitle, and this su... more The title is not at all clear before reading the book. Hence the need for a subtitle, and this subtitle made me suspicious, as I am of any theory claiming to explain ‘‘all’’*the divided brain and the making of the western world? Those were my thoughts on opening this sizeable book. Yet I was soon captivated. It is written beautifully and referenced comprehensively. The author brings together his impressive knowledge of clinical psychiatry and an elegant expressive ability to present a most engaging book on the topic of hemispheric specialisation. It recounts the scientific evidence of lateralisation and then proposes shifting roles of the hemispheres during history from ancient to modern and post-modern times. The opening chapters introduce the reader to the separate specialisations of the left and right hemispheres. They include some mention of hemispheric specialisations in animals and then move swiftly on to discuss the specialised functions of the left and right hemispheres of the human brain. The author is clearly on familiar ground in discussing the effects of damage to one or other of the hemispheres on brain function and he presents a thorough and engaging account of the topic. Every point made is referenced: in fact, almost a quarter of the book’s pages are notes and bibliography. I found myself moving back and forth between the text and the notes, and marking references that I must look up. The bibliography is a valuable source for scholars in the field. Unfortunately I found the index less comprehensive: separate subject and author indices would have been valuable. Lateralisation in non-human animals is covered briefly and less well than its equivalent in humans. This is to be expected, given the author’s background and interests, but more could have been said about the similarities between the pattern of lateralisation in non-human and human vertebrates. The reader is introduced to the specialised functions of the hemispheres not in a simplistic way but with reference to the complexities and the interplay between the hemispheres’ separate ways of processing information. I found myself needing to draw up a table of the left versus right hemispheric LATERALITY, 2011, 16 (1), 125 128
Journal of Comparative Psychology, Aug 1, 2006
Routledge eBooks, Mar 5, 2018
Brain Research, Oct 1, 1974
Cab Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, 2011
Many vertebrate species are known to have a similar pattern of brain lateralization, often expres... more Many vertebrate species are known to have a similar pattern of brain lateralization, often expressed as eye preferences or side biases. Fear and aggression are specializations of the right hemisphere, expressed as left-side biases. The left hemisphere categorizes stimuli and follows learnt rules of behaviour. Here, it is argued that eye, ear and nostril preferences could be useful in interpreting cognitive processes of individual animals and beneficially applied to predicting behaviour and improving welfare. Knowledge of lateralization may be particularly useful in reducing accidents involving large animals (e.g. flight and aggression of horses is stronger on their left side). The right hemisphere is highlighted as being important in welfare since its activity involves stress responses and the expression of intense emotions. It is hypothesized that a balance between left and right hemisphere activity aids welfare by preventing aggression, excessive fear, depression or negative cognitive bias. Ideas on how a balance between the hemispheres might be reinstated in animals suffering chronic stress and persistent right-hemisphere dominance are discussed. Limb preferences may reflect hemispheric dominance and be associated with different temperaments or personalities, as first found in primates. A relationship between limb preference and temperament, as well as state of health, is also present in four-legged animals. Lateral biases in moving a medial appendage, as seen in the tail wagging of dogs, can indicate which hemisphere is dominant and could be a social signal valuable in assessing welfare. In conclusion, knowledge of lateralization may be applied constructively to improving animal welfare.
Progress in Brain Research, 2018
This chapter examines the importance of studying hand preference together with different expressi... more This chapter examines the importance of studying hand preference together with different expressions of behavior. Cognitive differences between left- and right-handed primates are discussed. As shown in several species of primate, eye preference, but not hand preference, is biased at the level of the population and reflects hemispheric asymmetry of processing. Hand preference, determined from simple grasping of pieces of food and taking them to the mouth, is consistent for individuals but it is not population biased. It is a measure of an individual's preference to use a particular hemisphere, and hence which cognitive processes are characteristic of the individual. Compared to left-handed subjects, right-handed subjects are more active in exploring novel objects, show more social facilitation of behavior, have a positive cognitive bias, and express lower levels of fear and stress responses. In marmosets, learning of food searching tasks is not associated with hand preference. Strength of hand preference, rather than its direction, is linked to the ability to perform two tasks at once, viz., detection of a predator while searching for food. Marmosets with strong hand preferences are able to perform these two tasks at once but those with weak or no hand preference are unable to do so.
Elsevier eBooks, 1986
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the sort of asymmetry, involving coupled or uncoupled he... more Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the sort of asymmetry, involving coupled or uncoupled hemispheres, which is important in certain sorts of learning (imprinting versus visual discrimination learning). Despite the fact that the structural asymmetry is an essential feature of avian embryogenesis, and is first evident in the asymmetrical migration of cells at the blastoderm stage, the avian brain has so far provided with only one example of structural asymmetry and this is of unknown functional significance. This is the asymmetry of the habenular nuclei in male chickens, in which the right nucleus is significantly larger than the left. In contrast, the avian brain has provided many striking examples of functional asymmetry. Study of asymmetry in the brain of birds has its own special merits for comparison with asymmetry in the mammalian brain, since birds thought have important decussations that interconnect the forebrain hemispheres; they lack the large corpus callosum characteristic of the mammalian brain.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, May 1, 1979
Elsevier eBooks, 2015
Differential control of behavior and information processing by the left and right hemispheres of ... more Differential control of behavior and information processing by the left and right hemispheres of the brain is now well known to be characteristic of a wide number of vertebrate species, thus overturning the long-held myth that it is unique to humans. Perhaps, even more unexpected has been the discovery that the pattern of lateralization in vertebrate species is fundamentally the same as that in humans. Research on animals is revealing important information about the development, evolution, causation, and function of this key aspect of brain organization.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Aug 1, 2021