Abstract:

Language lateralization is one of the most obvious characteristics of brain functional lateralization. Previous neuroimaging studies identified numerous brain regions associated with language lateralization, such as the frontal and temporal lobes, the cingulate and fusiform gyrus, the supplementary motor area, and so on.This review synthesizes current published literature relevant to language lateralization, with an emphasis on handedness and functional connectivity. Our findings show that language lateralization is positively correlated with handedness and intra-hemisphere connectivity but is negatively correlated with inter-hemispheric connectivity. Moreover, the left- and right-handers exhibit different correlation profiles between language lateralization and functional connectivity. We discuss the relationship between language lateralization, handedness, and functional connectivity, and we propose areas for further research.

Key words: language lateralization, handedness, resting state functional connectivity