Alternating cerebral hemispheric activity and the lateralization of autonomic nervous function.

Abstract

Alternating dominance of cerebral hemispheric activity was demonstrated in humans by use of the electroencephalogram (EEG). Relative changes of electrocortical activity have a direct correlation with changes in the relative nostril dominance, the so-called nasal cycle. The nasal cycle is a phenomenon where efficiency of breathing alternates predominantly through right or left nostril with a periodicity ranging from 25 to greater than 200 minutes. Relatively greater integrated EEG value in one hemisphere correlates with predominant airflow in the contralateral nostril, defining a new interrelationship between cerebral dominance and peripheral autonomic nervous function.