The generation of visual images: a review of neuropsychological research and theory.

Since the advent of the view that mental imagery is a subdividable process, claims have been made that the generation of images is the domain of the left posterior hemisphere. This article examines theory and data about the neuropsychology of image generation by focusing on the main contributors to the debate. An attempt is made to make the theory and beliefs associated with each of the key figures explicit, because these have influenced the structure of research and the development of new theories. Support is found for the involvement of the left hemisphere, although many researchers claim that the posterior regions of both hemispheres contribute to image generation but that they do so in different ways. The nature of this difference remains the subject of ongoing research.