Hemispheric disparity theory: a dual-system framework for consciousness.
Front Psychol May 29, 2026 Mohammad Wafa
Conscious experience arises from the dynamic interplay between two structurally distinct cerebral hemispheres. The left hemisphere specializes in order and abstraction through dynamic temporal modeling, while the right hemisphere handles contextual integration, coherence, and model updating via attentional networks. The article presents a three-part model: how unified conscious experience emerges from these hemispheres, how information processing becomes asymmetric through structural arrangements in cortical hierarchies, and how this disparate system generates cumulative concept development unique to the conscious mind. The model draws on neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence and has implications for clinical, philosophical, and artificial learning systems.