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Effect of handedness on fMRI activation in the medial temporal lobe during an auditory verbal memory task.
Full Abstract
Several studies have shown marked differences in the neural localization of language functions in the brains of left-handed individuals when compared with right-handers. Previous experiments involving functional lateralization have demonstrated cerebral blood flow patterns that differ concordantly with subject handedness while performing language-related tasks. The effect of handedness on function in specific stages of memory processing, however, is a largely unexplored area. We used a paired-associates verbal memory task to elicit activation of neural areas related to declarative memory, examining the hypothesis that there are differences in activation in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) between handedness groups. 15 left-handed and 25 right-handed healthy adults were matched for all major demographic and neuropsychological variables. Functional and structural imaging data were acquired and analyzed for group differences within MTL subregions. Our results show that activation of the MTL during declarative memory processing varies with handedness. While both groups showed activation in left and right MTL subregions, the left-handed group showed a statistically significant increase in the left hippocampus and amygdala during both encoding and recall. No increases in activation were found in the right-handed group. This effect was found in the absence of any differences in performance on the verbal memory task, structural volumetric disparities, or functional asymmetries. This provides evidence of functional differences between left-handers and right-handers, which extends to declarative memory processes. 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Author information
Author/s: Cuzzocreo, Jennifer L (JL); Yassa, Michael A (MA); Verduzco, Guillermo (G); Honeycutt, Nancy A (NA); Scott, David J (DJ); Bassett, Susan Spear (SS);
Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
Grants: AG016324-03 (Agency:NIA NIH HHS) ; R01 AG016324-03 (Agency:NIA NIH HHS)
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Journal: Human brain mapping (Hum Brain Mapp), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2009-Apr; vol 30 (issue 4) : pp 1271-8
Dates: Created 2009/03/16; Completed 2009/06/10;
PMID: 18570207, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/10/2009, IMS Date: 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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