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When age tips the balance: A dual mechanism affecting hemispheric specialization for language
Elise Roger1,2,3, Loïc Labache4,5, Noah Hamlin6,7
1Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Communication and Aging Lab, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Imaging Neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
|August 13, 2025
Summary
Brain lateralization shifts with age, showing both increased bilateralization in language areas and leftward specialization in memory regions. These changes, emerging around midlife, impact language production. This study reveals a dual mechanism in aging brain networks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Aging
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Brain architecture undergoes significant changes with aging, impacting functional network lateralization.
- Understanding shifts in hemispheric specialization across the adult lifespan is crucial for cognitive health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in brain hemispheric specialization.
- To analyze how functional connectivity and structural volumes change with age.
- To link these brain changes to behavioral performance in language tasks.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) and structural MRI data from 728 adults (aged 18-88).
- Quantification of regional asymmetries in functional connectivity using the Language-and-Memory Network atlas.
- Normalization of regional volumes across 37 bilateral brain regions.
Main Results:
- Identified two distinct age-related asymmetry trajectories: bilateralization in language regions and increased leftward specialization in memory/language multimodal regions.
- Observed opposing patterns of lateralization emerging around midlife.
- Linked these asymmetry shifts to performance in language production tasks.
Conclusions:
- New evidence for a dual mechanism reshaping functional brain lateralization with age.
- Demonstrated the utility of resting-state fMRI metrics in tracking age-related brain shifts.
- Findings highlight dynamic changes in brain networks throughout adulthood.
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