Callosal tracts and patterns of hemispheric dominance: A combined fMRI and DTI study

Left-hemispheric dominance for language and right-hemispheric dominance for spatial processing are distinctive characteristics of the human brain. However, variations of these hemispheric asymmetries have been observed, with a minority showing crowding of both functions to the same hemisphere or even a mirror reversal of the typical lateralization pattern. Here, we used diffusion tensor imaging and functional magnetic imaging to investigate the role of the corpus callosum in participants with atypical hemispheric dominance. The corpus callosum was segmented according to the projection site of the underlying fibre tracts. Analyses of the microstructure of the identified callosal segments revealed that atypical hemispheric dominance for language was associated with high anisotropic diffusion through the corpus callosum as a whole. This effect was most evident in participants with crowding of both functions to the right. The enhanced anisotropic diffusion in atypical hemispheric dominance implies that in these individuals the two hemispheres are more heavily interconnected. ►Atypical hemispheric dominance for language is associated with high anisotropic diffusion in the corpus callosum. ►Typical cerebral asymmetry, such as left-cerebral dominance for language and right-cerebral dominance for spatial processing, is associated with reduced interhemispheric connectivity. ►Crowding of functions to the right hemisphere is associated with especially high anisotropic diffusion in the corpus callosum.