Hemispheric Complementarity is Associated with Distinct Functional and Structural Brain Profiles
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Hemispheric specialization is thought to follow a principle of complementarity, with homotopic functions such as language and attention lateralizing to opposite hemispheres, yet its consistency across individuals and relevance for cognition remain unclear. Using multimodal neuroimaging and twin-family data from 987 Human Connectome Project participants, we identified three sustained attentional lateralization phenotypes (right, left, bilateral) that were independent of handedness, differed by sex, and tracked broad shifts in brain organization, with bilateral individuals showing stronger intrahemispheric and homotopic connectivity. Examining attention and language revealed three multidomain profiles (crowded, mixed, split) reflecting whether functions colocalize within or are distributed across hemispheres. Mixed organization was linked to higher planum polare myelination, whereas crowded organization showed higher fiber density connectivity across dorsal attention–default network. Both phenotypes were heritable, yet neither predicted cognitive performance. These findings reveal a brain organization in which specialization emerges from flexible, heritable patterns linking function, structural connectivity, and myeloarchitecture.
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Authors published a paper in Biorxiv, they used SOLAR in the study. Including #RRIDs will make this less ambiguous. SciScore made a table with this resource, see “Automated Services” module (download as csv, xml or #jats) #reproducibility #methodsmatter
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🚨 Language is usually left-lateralized, while attention tends to favor the right hemisphere. But are these functions always on opposite sides of the brain?🧠 In our new @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social preprint, we explored hemispheric complementarity in 987 people. 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Hemispheric Complementarity is Associated with Distinct Functional and Structural Brain Profiles https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.758042v1
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Hemispheric Complementarity is Associated with Distinct Functional and Structural Brain Profiles https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.758042v1
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