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Lateralization

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.

Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...

Lobes of the Cerebrum

Lobes of the Cerebrum

The cerebral cortex, a critical structure of the brain, is intricately divided into two hemispheres, each consisting of four distinct lobes: occipital, temporal, frontal, and parietal. These lobes function cooperatively to regulate various cognitive and sensory functions, forming the basis of our complex neural capabilities.
Frontal lobe
The frontal lobes, located behind the forehead, are the command center of our brain, controlling personality, intelligence, and voluntary muscle movements.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice

Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice

Published on: July 31, 2019

Function lateralization via measuring coherence laterality.

Ze Wang¹, Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, John Pluta

¹Treatment Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA 19104, USA. zewang@mail.med.upenn.edu

|April 7, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces coherence laterality (CL), a novel method using fMRI data to map brain function lateralization. CL accurately identifies brain function lateralization, even with resting-state fMRI, offering a new tool for neurological research.

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Last Updated: Jun 24, 2026

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Published on: May 19, 2016

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Neuroimaging
Brain Function Lateralization

Background:

Lateralization of brain function is crucial for understanding cognitive processes and neurological disorders.
Current methods for assessing brain function lateralization often rely on task-based functional MRI (fMRI), which may not capture resting-state or pathological alterations.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and validate a data-driven approach for brain function lateralization using spatial coherence differences in homologous regions-of-interest (ROI) from fMRI data.
To assess the utility of coherence laterality (CL) for determining functional lateralization in motor and memory systems.
To explore the potential of CL for lateralizing pathological brain function using resting-state fMRI.

Main Methods:

Functional MRI (fMRI) data from normal subjects and epilepsy patients were analyzed.
Coherence laterality (CL) was calculated based on spatial coherence differences in homologous ROIs.
The method was tested on motor laterality during a motor task and memory laterality in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy patients during a scene-encoding task.

Main Results:

CL successfully lateralized functional stimulation during a motor task in normal subjects.
In epilepsy patients, CL in the hippocampus-parahippocampus-fusiform (HPF) ROI correlated with task activation-based lateralization and differentiated patient groups.
CL analysis of resting-state fMRI in epilepsy patients yielded similar memory laterality predictions, suggesting potential for pathological function lateralization.
Combining CL with activation-based approaches improved lateralization accuracy.

Conclusions:

Coherence laterality (CL) is a viable data-driven method for assessing brain function lateralization using fMRI.
CL can potentially lateralize pathological brain function from resting-state fMRI data.
Spatial coherence analysis offers a complementary approach to task-correlated activity for brain function lateralization.