Open AccessThe contribution of cortical thickness and surface area to gray matter asymmetries in the healthy human brain
Author(s) -
Koelkebeck Katja,
Miyata Jun,
Kubota Manabu,
Kohl Waldemar,
Son Shuraku,
Fukuyama Hidenao,
Sawamoto Nobukatsu,
Takahashi Hidehiko,
Murai Toshiya
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.22601
Subject(s) - gyrification , human brain , brain asymmetry , asymmetry , neuroscience , lateralization of brain function , psychology , cognition , white matter , gray (unit) , cerebral cortex , magnetic resonance imaging , medicine , physics , quantum mechanics , radiology
Human cortical gray matter (GM) is structurally asymmetrical and this asymmetry has been discussed to be partly responsible for functional lateralization of human cognition and behavior. Past studies on brain asymmetry have shown mixed results so far, with some studies focusing on the global shapes of the brain's surface, such as gyrification patterns, while others focused on regional brain volumes. In this study, we investigated cortical GM asymmetries in a large sample of right‐handed healthy volunteers ( n = 101), using a surface‐based method which allows to analyze brain cortical thickness and surface area separately. As a result, substantially different patterns of symmetry emerged between cortical thickness and surface area measures. In general, asymmetry is more prominent in the measure of surface compared to that of thickness. Such a detailed investigation of structural asymmetries in the normal brain contributes largely to our knowledge of normal brain development and also offers insights into the neurodevelopmental basis of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp 35:6011–6022, 2014 . © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .