Recognition of verbs,abstract nouns and concrete nouns from the left and right visual half-fields

Visual half-field recognition was evaluated for familiar and unfamiliar verbs, abstract nouns, and concrete nouns. The familiar abstract nouns showed a significantly greater right visual-half-field superiority than did the familiar concrete nouns; however, no difference in asymmetry was found for the unfamiliar abstract and concrete nouns. The greater right visual-half-field superiority for familiar abstract nouns was found under both unilateral and bilateral presentation, with fixation controlled using a center digit. It was suggested that the decreased asymmetry for familiar concrete nouns was due to recognition of these words by both the right and left hemispheres.