Evidence for a compensatory relationship between left- and right-lateralized brain networks.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Human brain hemispheres exhibit functional asymmetry, with language networks typically lateralized to the left.
• The degree of lateralization in other functional networks and their interdependencies remains largely unexplored.
• Understanding network lateralization is crucial for insights into neurodevelopmental disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify lateralization across 17 functional brain networks using relative cerebral hemisphere surface area.
• To test if language, visuospatial attention, and executive control networks show the greatest lateralization.
• To investigate the dependent relationship between the lateralization of different functional networks within individuals.

Main Methods:

• Quantified network lateralization by measuring relative left and right cerebral hemisphere surface area.
• Examined the validity and reliability of the surface area-based lateralization measure.
• Utilized correlation matrices and factor analyses across multiple large-scale neuroimaging datasets (HCP, HCP-D, NSD).

Main Results:

• Confirmed significant left lateralization for the language network and significant right lateralization for attention and executive control networks.
• Found evidence supporting a dependent relationship: greater left lateralization in one network correlated with greater right lateralization in another, systematically across individuals.
• Identified specific networks, including language, attention, and executive control, as demonstrating significant lateralization.

Conclusions:

• Brain functional networks exhibit varying degrees of lateralization, with language, attention, and executive control networks showing notable asymmetry.
• A systematic, dependent relationship exists between the lateralization patterns of different functional networks within individuals.
• These findings enhance understanding of macro-scale brain organization and have implications for neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by lateralization disruptions.