AUTHOR=Deemyad Tara 

TITLE=Lateralized Changes in Language Associated Auditory and Somatosensory Cortices in Autism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2022.787448

DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2022.787448

ISSN=1662-5137

ABSTRACT=Lateralized specialization of the two cerebral hemispheres is a fundamental structural hallmark 
of the human brain and underlies many cognitive functions and behavioral abilities. In typical 
developing individuals the influence of handedness on performance of various sensory 
modalities and the cortical processing has been well recognised. Increasing evidence suggests 
that several neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder, 
schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with abnormal patterns of 
cerebral lateralization. Individuals with ASD exhibit abnormal structural and functional 
lateralization of circuits subserving motor, auditory, somatosensory, visual face processing, and 
language-related functions. Furthermore, a high prevalence of atypical handedness has been 
reported in ASD individuals. However, the association between structural asymmetries and
cortical dominance, defined by handedness, has only recently been explored. This minireview 
summarizes these recent findings on asymmetry in somatosensory and auditory cortical 
structures associated with language processing in ASD. I will also discuss the importance of 
cortical dominance and interhemispheric disruption of balance between excitatory and 
inhibitory synapses as pathophysiological mechanisms in ASD.