title: Differences in cerebral cortical anatomy of left- and right-handers.
abstract: The left and right sides of the human brain are specialized for different kinds of information processing, and much of our cognition is lateralized to an extent toward one side or the other. Handedness is a reflection of nervous system lateralization. Roughly ten percent of people are mixed- or left-handed, and they show an elevated rate of reductions or reversals of some cerebral functional asymmetries compared to right-handers. Brain anatomical correlates of left-handedness have also been suggested. However, the relationships of left-handedness to brain structure and function remain far from clear. We carried out a comprehensive analysis of cortical surface area differences between 106 left-handed subjects and 1960 right-handed subjects, measured using an automated method of regional parcellation (FreeSurfer, Destrieux atlas). This is the largest study sample that has so far been used in relation to this issue. No individual cortical region showed an association with left-handedness that survived statistical correction for multiple testing, although there was a nominally significant association with the surface area of a previously implicated region: the left precentral sulcus. Identifying brain structural correlates of handedness may prove useful for genetic studies of cerebral asymmetries, as well as providing new avenues for the study of relations between handedness, cerebral lateralization and cognition.
authors.affiliation: Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands ; International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tulio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guadalupe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Neurobiology of Language Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roel M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Willems
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Zwiers
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arias Vasquez
authors.affiliation: Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoogman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Neurobiology of Language Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hagoort
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Guillen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buitelaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.affiliation: Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Simon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen, Netherlands ; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Clyde
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Francks
keywords: FreeSurfer; MRI; brain asymmetry; cortical surface area; handedness
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