| Title: | Longitudinal changes in brain asymmetry track lifestyle and disease |
| Journal: | Nature Communications |
| Published: | 1 Jul 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40593562/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60451-8 |
| URL: | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60451-8.pdf |
Publication 16389
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Abstract
Human beings may have evolved the largest asymmetries of brain organization in the animal kingdom. Hemispheric left-vs-right specialization is especially pronounced in species-unique capacities, including emotional processing such as facial judgments, language-based feats such as reading books, and creativity such as musical performances. We hence chart the largest longitudinal brain-imaging resource, and provide evidence that brain asymmetry changes continuously in a manner suggestive of neural plasticity throughout adulthood. In the UK Biobank population cohort, we demonstrate that whole-brain patterns of asymmetry changes show robust phenome-wide associations across 959 distinct variables spanning 11 categories. We also find that changes in brain asymmetry over years co-occur with changes among specific lifestyle markers. We uncover specific brain asymmetry changes which systematically co-occur with entering a new phase of life, namely retirement. Finally, we reveal relevance of evolving brain asymmetry within subjects to major disease categories across ~4500 total medical diagnoses. Our findings speak against the idea that asymmetrical neural systems are conserved throughout adulthood.</p>
13 Keywords
- Adult
- Aged
- Brain
- Female
- Functional Laterality
- Humans
- Life Style
- Longitudinal Studies
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Neuronal Plasticity
- United Kingdom
5 Authors
- Karin Saltoun
- B. T. Thomas Yeo
- Lynn Paul
- Jorn Diedrichsen
- Danilo Bzdok
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 25163 | Structural genetic contributions brain function and behavior |
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