Distinct molecular mechanisms for development of brain asymmetries?

Brain and behavioral asymmetries are often associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, but have yet uncovered genetic and developmental mechanisms. A recent study by Vingerhoets and colleagues (2018), published in Brain Structure and Function, examined neural structural and functional asymmetries in a cohort of patients with situs inversus totalis, with and without primary ciliarly dyskinesia as a second diagnosis. The authors showed a potential for independent randomization of handedness, language dominance, and visceral laterality; this provides the first experimental hint that different mechanisms for symmetry breaking and molecular cascades may be involved in producing asymmetry of body and brain.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 14‑14‑00284)