The architecture of functional lateralisation and its relationship to callosal connectivity in the human brain

Abstract

Functional lateralisation is a fundamental principle of the human brain. However, a comprehensive taxonomy of functional lateralisation and its organisation in the brain is missing. We report the first complete map of functional hemispheric asymmetries in the human brain, reveal its low dimensional structure, and its relationship with structural inter-hemispheric connectivity. Our results suggest that the lateralisation of brain functions is distributed along four functional axes: symbolic communication, perception/action, emotion, and decision-making, and that cortical regions showing asymmetries in task-evoked activity have reduced connections with the opposite hemisphere.