Left-right asymmetry is an organizing feature of the human brain. For example, language-related cerebral cortical regions and white matter tracts are well known to be structurally and functionally lateralized, with left-hemisphere dominance for language in the majority of people. Similarly, visuospatial cognition typically shows right-hemisphere dominance, while hand motor control is strongly lateralized, often reflecting handedness. Moreover, brain asymmetries are influenced by age, sex, and brain size. In addition, decades of research have suggested that brain asymmetry may be altered in psychiatric disorders. However, findings have been inconsistent and often based on small sample sizes.
 
The ENIGMA-Laterality Working Group has published numerous asymmetry studies using samples ranging approximately between 3,500 and 17,000 individuals, which were between one and two orders of magnitude larger than those published in previous decades. In these studies, we mapped brain asymmetry in healthy children and adults, quantified the effects of age, sex, handedness, and brain size on asymmetry, and also tested for changes of brain asymmetry in diverse psychiatric disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, and Schizophrenia. In addition, we confirmed heritability of (some) brain asymmetries, which set the groundwork for molecular genetic studies. Please see below for links to our published papers.
 
If you are interested to join the ENIGMA-Laterality Working Group, please email one of the co-chairs:
- Clyde Francks (clyde.francks@mpi.nl) at the Max Planck Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Eileen Lueders (e.lueders@auckland.ac.nz) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Xiangzhen Kong (xiangzhen.kong@zju.edu.cn) at Zhejiang University, China
 
 
 
Papers from the ENIGMA-Laterality group:

Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries during neurodevelopment: Associations with age and sex in 4265 children and adolescents. Kurth F, Schijven D, van den Heuvel OA, Hoogman M, van Rooij D, Stein DJ, Buitelaar JK, Bölte S, Auzias G, Kushki A, Venkatasubramanian G, Rubia K, Bollmann S, Isaksson J, Jaspers-Fayer F, Marsh R, Batistuzzo MC, Arnold PD, Bressan RA, Stewart SE, Gruner P, Sorensen L, Pan PM, Silk TJ, Gur RC, Cubillo AI, Haavik J, O'Gorman Tuura RL, Hartman CA, Calvo R, McGrath J, Calderoni S, Jackowski A, Chantiluke KC, Satterthwaite TD, Busatto GF, Nigg JT, Gur RE, Retico A, Tosetti M, Gallagher L, Szeszko PR, Neufeld J, Ortiz AE, Ghisleni C, Lazaro L, Hoekstra PJ, Anagnostou E, Hoekstra L, Simpson B, Plessen JK, Deruelle C, Soreni N, James A, Narayanaswamy J, Reddy JY, Fitzgerald J, Bellgrove MA, Salum GA, Janssen J, Muratori F, Vila M, Giral MG, Ameis SH, Bosco P, Remnélius KL, Huyser C, Pariente JC, Jalbrzikowski M, Rosa PG, O'Hearn KM, Ehrlich S, Mollon J, Zugman A, Christakou A, Arango C, Fisher SE, Kong X, Franke B, Medland SE, Thomopoulos SI, Jahanshad N, Glahn DC, Thompson PM, Francks C, Luders E. Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Aug 1;45(11):e26754. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26754. PMID: 39046031.

Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium. Schijven D, Postema MC, Fukunaga M, Matsumoto J, Miura K, de Zwarte SMC, van Haren NEM, Cahn W, Hulshoff Pol HE, Kahn RS, Ayesa-Arriola R, Ortiz-García de la Foz V, Tordesillas-Gutierrez D, Vázquez-Bourgon J, Crespo-Facorro B, Alnæs D, Dahl A, Westlye LT, Agartz I, Andreassen OA, Jönsson EG, Kochunov P, Bruggemann JM, Catts SV, Michie PT, Mowry BJ, Quidé Y, Rasser PE, Schall U, Scott RJ, Carr VJ, Green MJ, Henskens FA, Loughland CM, Pantelis C, Weickert CS, Weickert TW, de Haan L, Brosch K, Pfarr JK, Ringwald KG, Stein F, Jansen A, Kircher TTJ, Nenadić I, Krämer B, Gruber O, Satterthwaite TD, Bustillo J, Mathalon DH, Preda A, Calhoun VD, Ford JM, Potkin SG, Chen J, Tan Y, Wang Z, Xiang H, Fan F, Bernardoni F, Ehrlich S, Fuentes-Claramonte P, Garcia-Leon MA, Guerrero-Pedraza A, Salvador R, Sarró S, Pomarol-Clotet E, Ciullo V, Piras F, Vecchio D, Banaj N, Spalletta G, Michielse S, van Amelsvoort T, Dickie EW, Voineskos AN, Sim K, Ciufolini S, Dazzan P, Murray RM, Kim WS, Chung YC, Andreou C, Schmidt A, Borgwardt S, McIntosh AM, Whalley HC, Lawrie SM, du Plessis S, Luckhoff HK, Scheffler F, Emsley R, Grotegerd D, Lencer R, Dannlowski U, Edmond JT, Rootes- Murdy K, Stephen JM, Mayer AR, Antonucci LA, Fazio L, Pergola G, Bertolino A, Díaz-Caneja CM, Janssen J, Lois NG, Arango C, Tomyshev AS, Lebedeva I, Cervenka S, Sellgren CM, Georgiadis F, Kirschner M, Kaiser S, Hajek T, Skoch A, Spaniel F, Kim M, Kwak YB, Oh S, Kwon JS, James A, Bakker G, Knöchel C, Stäblein M, Oertel V, Uhlmann A, Howells FM, Stein DJ, Temmingh HS, Diaz-Zuluaga AM, Pineda- Zapata JA, López-Jaramillo C, Homan S, Ji E, Surbeck W, Homan P, Fisher SE, Franke B, Glahn DC, Gur RC, Hashimoto R, Jahanshad N, Luders E, Medland SE, Thompson PM, Turner JA, van Erp TGM, Francks C. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Apr 4;120(14):e2213880120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2213880120. Epub 2023 Mar 28. PMID: 36976765.

Subtly altered topological asymmetry of brain structural covariance networks in autism spectrum disorder across 43 datasets from the ENIGMA consortium. Sha Z, van Rooij D, Anagnostou E, Arango C, Auzias G, Behrmann M, Bernhardt B, Bolte S, Busatto GF, Calderoni S, Calvo R, Daly E, Deruelle C, Duan M, Duran FLS, Durston S, Ecker C, Ehrlich S, Fair D, Fedor J, Fitzgerald J, Floris DL, Franke B, Freitag CM, Gallagher L, Glahn DC, Haar S, Hoekstra L, Jahanshad N, Jalbrzikowski M, Janssen J, King JA, Lazaro L, Luna B, McGrath J, Medland SE, Muratori F, Murphy DGM, Neufeld J, O'Hearn K, Oranje B, Parellada M, Pariente JC, Postema MC, Remnelius KL, Retico A, Rosa PGP, Rubia K, Shook D, Tammimies K, Taylor MJ, Tosetti M, Wallace GL, Zhou F, Thompson PM, Fisher SE, Buitelaar JK, Francks C. Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Apr;27(4):2114-2125. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01452-7. Epub 2022 Feb 8. PMID: 35136228.

Analysis of structural brain asymmetries in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in 39 datasets. Postema MC, Hoogman M, Ambrosino S, Asherson P, Banaschewski T, Bandeira CE, Baranov A, Bau CHD, Baumeister S, Baur-Streubel R, Bellgrove MA, Biederman J, Bralten J, Brandeis D, Brem S, Buitelaar JK, Busatto GF, Castellanos FX, Cercignani M, Chaim-Avancini TM, Chantiluke KC, Christakou A, Coghill D, Conzelmann A, Cubillo AI, Cupertino RB, de Zeeuw P, Doyle AE, Durston S, Earl EA, Epstein JN, Ethofer T, Fair DA, Fallgatter AJ, Faraone SV, Frodl T, Gabel MC, Gogberashvili T, Grevet EH, Haavik J, Harrison NA, Hartman CA, Heslenfeld DJ, Hoekstra PJ, Hohmann S, Høvik MF, Jernigan TL, Kardatzki B, Karkashadze G, Kelly C, Kohls G, Konrad K, Kuntsi J, Lazaro L, Lera-Miguel S, Lesch KP, Louza MR, Lundervold AJ, Malpas CB, Mattos P, McCarthy H, Namazova-Baranova L, Nicolau R, Nigg JT, Novotny SE, Oberwelland Weiss E, O'Gorman Tuura RL, Oosterlaan J, Oranje B, Paloyelis Y, Pauli P, Picon FA, Plessen KJ, Ramos-Quiroga JA, Reif A, Reneman L, Rosa PGP, Rubia K, Schrantee A, Schweren LJS, Seitz J, Shaw P, Silk TJ, Skokauskas N, Soliva Vila JC, Stevens MC, Sudre G, Tamm L, Tovar-Moll F, van Erp TGM, Vance A, Vilarroya O, Vives-Gilabert Y, von Polier GG, Walitza S, Yoncheva YN, Zanetti MV, Ziegler GC, Glahn DC, Jahanshad N, Medland SE; ENIGMA ADHD Working Group, Thompson PM, Fisher SE, Franke B, Francks C. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2021 Oct;62(10):1202-1219. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13396. Epub 2021 Mar 22. PMID: 33748971; PMCID: PMC8455726.

Reproducibility in the absence of selective reporting: An illustration from large-scale brain asymmetry research. Kong XZ; ENIGMA Laterality Working Group, Francks C. Hum Brain Mapp. 2022 Jan;43(1):244-254. doi: 10.1002/hbm.25154. Epub 2020 Aug 25. PMID: 32841457.

Mapping brain asymmetry in health and disease through the ENIGMA consortium. Kong XZ, Postema MC, Guadalupe T, de Kovel C, Boedhoe PSW, Hoogman M, Mathias SR, van Rooij D, Schijven D, Glahn DC, Medland SE, Jahanshad N, Thomopoulos SI, Turner JA, Buitelaar J, van Erp TGM, Franke B, Fisher SE, van den Heuvel OA, Schmaal L, Thompson PM, Francks C. Hum Brain Mapp. 2022 Jan;43(1):167-181. doi: 10.1002/hbm.25033. Epub 2020 May 18. PMID: 32420672.

Altered structural brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder in a study of 54 datasets. Postema MC, van Rooij D, Anagnostou E, Arango C, Auzias G, Behrmann M, Filho GB, Calderoni S, Calvo R, Daly E, Deruelle C, Di Martino A, Dinstein I, Duran FLS, Durston S, Ecker C, Ehrlich S, Fair D, Fedor J, Feng X, Fitzgerald J, Floris DL, Freitag CM, Gallagher L, Glahn DC, Gori I, Haar S, Hoekstra L, Jahanshad N, Jalbrzikowski M, Janssen J, King JA, Kong XZ, Lazaro L, Lerch JP, Luna B, Martinho MM, McGrath J, Medland SE, Muratori F, Murphy CM, Murphy DGM, O'Hearn K, Oranje B, Parellada M, Puig O, Retico A, Rosa P, Rubia K, Shook D, Taylor MJ, Tosetti M, Wallace GL, Zhou F, Thompson PM, Fisher SE, Buitelaar JK, Francks C. Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 31;10(1):4958. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13005-8

No Alterations of Brain Structural Asymmetry in Major Depressive Disorder: An ENIGMA Consortium Analysis. de Kovel CGF, Aftanas L, Aleman A, Alexander-Bloch AF, Baune BT, Brack I, Bülow R, Busatto Filho G, Carballedo A, Connolly CG, Cullen KR, Dannlowski U, Davey CG, Dima D, Dohm K, Erwin-Grabner T, Frodl T, Fu CHY, Hall GB, Glahn DC, Godlewska B, Gotlib IH, Goya-Maldonado R, Grabe HJ, Groenewold NA, Grotegerd D, Gruber O, Harris MA, Harrison BJ, Hatton SN, Hickie IB, Ho TC, Jahanshad N, Kircher T, Krämer B, Krug A, Lagopoulos J, Leehr EJ, Li M, MacMaster FP, MacQueen G, McIntosh AM, McLellan Q, Medland SE, Mueller BA, Nenadic I, Osipov E, Papmeyer M, Portella MJ, Reneman L, Rosa PGP, Sacchet MD, Schnell K, Schrantee A, Sim K, Simulionyte E, Sindermann L, Singh A, Stein DJ, Ubani BN, Van der Wee NJA, Van der Werff SJA, Veer IM, Vives-Gilabert Y, Völzke H, Walter H, Walter M, Schreiner MW, Whalley H, Winter N, Wittfeld K, Yang TT, Yüksel D, Zaremba D, Thompson PM, Veltman DJ, Schmaal L, Francks C. Am J Psychiatry. 2019 Dec 1;176(12):1039-1049. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18101144

Mapping Cortical and Subcortical Asymmetry in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Findings From the ENIGMA Consortium. Kong XZ, Boedhoe PSW, Abe Y, Alonso P, Ameis SH, Arnold PD, Assogna F, Baker JT, Batistuzzo MC, Benedetti F, Beucke JC, Bollettini I, Bose A, Brem S, Brennan BP, Buitelaar J, Calvo R, Cheng Y, Cho KIK, Dallaspezia S, Denys D, Ely BA, Feusner J, Fitzgerald KD, Fouche JP, Fridgeirsson EA, Glahn DC, Gruner P, Gürsel DA, Hauser TU, Hirano Y, Hoexter MQ, Hu H, Huyser C, James A, Jaspers-Fayer F, Kathmann N, Kaufmann C, Koch K, Kuno M, Kvale G, Kwon JS, Lazaro L, Liu Y, Lochner C, Marques P, Marsh R, Martínez-Zalacaín I, Mataix-Cols D, Medland SE, Menchón JM, Minuzzi L, Moreira PS, Morer A, Morgado P, Nakagawa A, Nakamae T, Nakao T, Narayanaswamy JC, Nurmi EL, O'Neill J, Pariente JC, Perriello C, Piacentini J, Piras F, Piras F, Pittenger C, Reddy YCJ, Rus-Oswald OG, Sakai Y, Sato JR, Schmaal L, Simpson HB, Soreni N, Soriano-Mas C, Spalletta G, Stern ER, Stevens MC, Stewart SE, Szeszko PR, Tolin DF, Tsuchiyagaito A, van Rooij D, van Wingen GA, Venkatasubramanian G, Wang Z, Yun JY; ENIGMA OCD Working Group, Thompson PM, Stein DJ, van den Heuvel OA, Francks C. Biol Psychiatry. 2019 Apr 30. pii: S0006-3223(19)31292-2. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.04.022. 

Mapping cortical brain asymmetry in 17,141 healthy individuals worldwide via the ENIGMA Consortium. Kong XZ, Mathias SR, Guadalupe T; ENIGMA Laterality Working Group, Glahn DC, Franke B, Crivello F, Tzourio-Mazoyer N, Fisher SE, Thompson PM, Francks C. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 May 29;115(22):E5154-E5163. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718418115.

Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex. Guadalupe T, Mathias SR, vanErp TGM, Whelan CD, Zwiers MP, Abe Y, Abramovic L, Agartz I, Andreassen OA, Arias-Vásquez A, Aribisala BS, Armstrong NJ, Arolt V, Artiges E, Ayesa-Arriola R, Baboyan VG, Banaschewski T, Barker G, Bastin ME, Baune BT, Blangero J, Bokde ALW, Boedhoe PSW, Bose A, Brem S, Brodaty H, Bromberg U, Brooks S, Büchel C, Buitelaar J, Calhoun VD, Cannon DM, Cattrell A, Cheng Y, Conrod PJ, Conzelmann A, Corvin A, Crespo-Facorro B, Crivello F, Dannlowski U, de Zubicaray GI, de Zwarte SMC, Deary IJ, Desrivières S, Doan NT, Donohoe G, Dørum ES, Ehrlich S, Espeseth T, Fernández G, Flor H, Fouche JP, Frouin V, Fukunaga M, Gallinat J, Garavan H, Gill M, Suarez AG, Gowland P, Grabe HJ, Grotegerd D, Gruber O, Hagenaars S, Hashimoto R, Hauser TU, Heinz A, Hibar DP, Hoekstra PJ, Hoogman M, Howells FM, Hu H, Hulshoff Pol HE, Huyser C, Ittermann B, Jahanshad N, Jönsson EG, Jurk S, Kahn RS, Kelly S, Kraemer B, Kugel H, Kwon JS, Lemaitre H, Lesch KP, Lochner C, Luciano M, Marquand AF, Martin NG, Martínez-Zalacaín I, Martinot JL, Mataix-Cols D, Mather K, McDonald C, McMahon KL, Medland SE, Menchón JM, Morris DW, Mothersill O, Maniega SM, Mwangi B, Nakamae T, Nakao T, Narayanaswaamy JC, Nees F, Nordvik JE, Onnink AMH, Opel N, Ophoff R, Paillère Martinot ML, Papadopoulos Orfanos D, Pauli P, Paus T, Poustka L, Reddy JY, Renteria ME, Roiz-Santiáñez R, Roos A, Royle NA, Sachdev P, Sánchez-Juan P, Schmaal L, Schumann G, Shumskaya E, Smolka MN, Soares JC, Soriano-Mas C, Stein DJ, Strike LT, Toro R, Turner JA, Tzourio-Mazoyer N, Uhlmann A, Hernández MV, van den Heuvel OA, van der Meer D, van Haren NEM, Veltman DJ, Venkatasubramanian G, Vetter NC, Vuletic D, Walitza S, Walter H, Walton E, Wang Z, Wardlaw J, Wen W, Westlye LT, Whelan R, Wittfeld K, Wolfers T, Wright MJ, Xu J, Xu X, Yun JY, Zhao J, Franke B, Thompson PM, Glahn DC, Mazoyer B, Fisher SE, Francks C. Brain Imaging Behav. 2017 Oct;11(5):1497-1514. doi: 10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z.