Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside CA 92521, USA.
Brain Lang. 2013 Aug;126(2):109-22. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2013.03.005. Epub 2013 May 13.
The current study investigated behavioral correlates of structural asymmetry of the insula, and traditional perisylvian language regions, in a large sample of young adults (N=200). The findings indicated (1) reliable leftward surface area asymmetry of the anterior insula, (2) association of this asymmetry with divided visual field lateralization of visual word recognition, and (3) modulation of the correlation of structural and linguistic asymmetry by consistency of hand preference. Although leftward asymmetry of cortical surface area was observed for the anterior insula, pars opercularis and triangularis, and planum temporale, only the anterior insula asymmetry was associated with lateralized word recognition. We interpret these findings within the context of recent structural and functional findings about the human insula. We suggest that leftward structural lateralization of earlier developing insular cortex may bootstrap asymmetrical functional lateralization even if the insula is only a minor component of the adult language network.
当前的研究调查了 200 名年轻成年人样本中脑岛结构不对称性和传统的围颞语言区域的行为相关性。研究结果表明:(1)前脑岛存在可靠的左侧表面积不对称性;(2)这种不对称性与视觉词识别的偏侧化视野分裂有关;(3)结构和语言不对称的相关性受手偏好一致性的调节。尽管观察到了前脑岛、脑岛外侧沟和脑岛三角区以及颞上回的皮质表面积的左侧不对称性,但只有前脑岛的不对称性与偏侧化的单词识别有关。我们在最近关于人类脑岛的结构和功能发现的背景下解释这些发现。我们认为,即使脑岛只是成人语言网络的一个次要组成部分,早期发育的脑岛皮层的左侧结构偏侧化也可能引导不对称的功能偏侧化。