ABSTRACT
It is commonly assumed that cerebral asymmetry is unidimensional, but evidence increasingly suggests that different brain circuits are independently lateralized. This might explain why the search for a laterality gene has provided multiple candidates, each with weak linkage. An alternative possibility is that there is a single genetically invariant source of lateralization, perhaps cytoplasmic, and subject to many influences, some genetic, some epigenetic, and some random. This could further explain why laterality is associated with a variety of disorders, such as dyslexia, schizophrenia, stress disorders, and depression.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.