SEX AND LATERALITY DIFFERENCES IN EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL RESPONSES TO AFFECTIVE STIMULI

Recent interpretations of neurophysiological and clinical data have tied the euphoria-dysphoria dimension of emotion to cerebral hemisphere laterality. Statistics indicate that the incidence of depression is considerably higher in females than in males. This study investigated electrophysiological sex and laterality differences in relation to affective stimuli. Visual event-related potential data were recorded from frontal sites while subjects listened to either major or minor music. Analyses of waveform peak data indicated that males' and females' ERP responses differed significantly. P300 latencies varied according to sex and sex x hemisphere interaction effects. Explanations of the evolutionary and developmental etiologies of cortical and subcortical sex differences may help explain factors underlying sex differences in the electrophysiological responses as well as in the incidence of affective disorders.