Sexual dimorphism in interhemispheric relations: anatomical-behavioral convergence.

An embryogenetic hypothesis states that hemispheric specialization is inversely related to callosal connectivity (Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985). We tested this hypothesis (i) anatomically by relating postmortem planum temporale asymmetry to regional callosal morphology and (ii) behaviorally by relating the right visual field advantage in a lateralized lexical decision task with associative primes to regional callosal morphometry using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The postmortem study showed a significant negative correlation between planum temporale asymmetry and the number of small diameter fibers in the isthmus of the corpus callosum, but only for males. The MRI study showed a significant negative correlation between the right visual hemifield advantage for associated words and the cross section size of the isthmus of the corpus callosum, but again only in males. There was no sex difference in either the anatomical asymmetry, the behavioral asymmetry, or the callosal morphology. These convergent results suggest that there is a sexual dimorphism in interhemispheric relations in humans.