Most animals, including humans appear symmetrical externally, but display visceral lateral asymmetry with a bias for one enantiomeric body plane over the other. We are interested in understanding functional effects of bilateral asymmetry in the nervous system. The left and right cerebral hemispheres appear symmetrical in gross anatomy but are known to be functionally asymmetrical. For example, language dominance has an asymmetrical presence on the left side of the brain in 90% of the population classified as right handed. Hemispheric laterality plays an important role in neuropsychological models of neuro-psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Typically developing individuals more commonly have a right dominant laterality when it comes to handedness, footedness and language laterality. These reflect a leftward asymmetry in the brain. Previous studies have found higher rates of atypical modalities such as handedness and footedness in the ASD community. However, many of these modalities have been studied separately. We propose to observe handedness, footedness, language laterality, eye dominance and hair whorl in individuals in the ASD community to observe whether or not an occurrence of atypical asymmetry is observed. Samples have been collected from the typical population as well as the ASD community. To begin with, we have tested university students and faculty to standardize the WatHand Box, The Measurement of Foot Preference, Distance in Hole Card Test and iDichotic listening app. Our preliminary data on individual modalities is in line with previous studies. We will continue this testing with children in the ASD community. In a separate line of experiments, the C. elegans model will be used to test laterality phenotypes of genes implicated in ASD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and left handedness. Effects of these genes on laterality are being observed in early embryonic development as well as in the neurons of the adult organism. Effects on behavior as a result of functional laterality will be observed through associative and nonassociative learning assays.

Markers of functional laterality of the nervous system

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Markers of functional laterality of the nervous system

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