Work

The genetic relationship between handedness and neurodevelopmental disorders

Year: 2013

Type: review

Abstract: Handedness and brain asymmetry have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia and schizophrenia. The genetic nature of this correlation is not understood. Recent discoveries have shown handedness is determined in part by the biological pathways that establish left/right (LR) body asymmetry during development. Cilia play a key role in this process, and candidate genes for dyslexia have also been recently shown to be involved in cilia formation. Defective cilia result not only in LR body asymmetry phenotypes but also brain midline phenotypes such as an absent corpus callosum. These findings suggest that the mechanisms for establishing LR asymmetry in the body are reused for brain midline development, which in turn influences traits such as handedness and reading ability.

Source: Trends in Molecular Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2013.10.008

Authors: William M. Brandler, Silvia Paracchini

Institutions: Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, University of St Andrews

Language: English

Topic: Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,973

Funder: Wellcome Trust