| Title: | Handedness and its genetic influences are associated with structural asymmetries of the cerebral cortex in 31,864 individuals |
| Journal: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Published: | 16 Nov 2021 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34785596/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113095118 |
| Citations: | 58 (39 in last 2 years) as of 8 Aug 2024 |
Publication 5115
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Abstract
Roughly 10% of the human population is left-handed, and this rate is increased in some brain-related disorders. The neuroanatomical correlates of hand preference have remained equivocal. We resampled structural brain image data from 28,802 right-handers and 3,062 left-handers (UK Biobank population dataset) to a symmetrical surface template, and mapped asymmetries for each of 8,681 vertices across the cerebral cortex in each individual. Left-handers compared to right-handers showed average differences of surface area asymmetry within the fusiform cortex, the anterior insula, the anterior middle cingulate cortex, and the precentral cortex. Meta-analyzed functional imaging data implicated these regions in executive functions and language. Polygenic disposition to left-handedness was associated with two of these regional asymmetries, and 18 loci previously linked with left-handedness by genome-wide screening showed associations with one or more of these asymmetries. Implicated genes included six encoding microtubule-related proteins: TUBB, TUBA1B, TUBB3, TUBB4A, MAP2, and NME7-mutations in the latter can cause left to right reversal of the visceral organs. There were also two cortical regions where average thickness asymmetry was altered in left-handedness: on the postcentral gyrus and the inferior occipital cortex, functionally annotated with hand sensorimotor and visual roles. These cortical thickness asymmetries were not heritable. Heritable surface area asymmetries of language-related regions may link the etiologies of hand preference and language, whereas nonheritable asymmetries of sensorimotor cortex may manifest as consequences of hand preference.</p>
10 Authors
- Zhiqiang Sha
- Antonietta Pepe
- Dick Schijven
- Amaia Carrión-Castillo
- James M. Roe
- René Westerhausen
- Marc Joliot
- Simon E. Fisher
- Fabrice Crivello
- Clyde Francks
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