The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Divided Brains: The Biology and Behaviour of Brain Asymmetries
Abstract
Asymmetry of the brain and behaviour (lateralization) has traditionally been considered unique to humans. However, research has shown that this phenomenon is widespread throughout the vertebrate kingdom and found even in some invertebrate species. A similar basic plan of organisation exists across vertebrates. Summarising the evidence and highlighting research from the last twenty years, the authors discuss lateralization from four perspectives - function, evolution, development and causation - covering a wide range of animals, including humans. The evolution of lateralization is traced from our earliest ancestors, through fish and reptiles to birds and mammals. The benefits of having a divided brain are discussed, as well as the influence of experience on its development. A final chapter discusses outstanding problems and areas for further investigation. Experts in this field, the authors present the latest scientific knowledge clearly and engagingly, making this a valuable tool for anyone interested in the biology and behaviour of brain asymmetries.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Imprinting research has continued until the present day. The emphasis has been largely on the nature of its underlying mechanisms, including its neuroscience (see Rogers et al., 2013; Montuori and Honey, 2015).”
From Back to basics: A re-evaluation of the relevance of imprinting in the genesis of Bowlby’s attachment theory (2022) · cites this paper as Rogers et al., 2013
Citations
Cited by
Items 301–400 of 420
Vallortígara, G., & Vitiello, G. (2025) · Quantum Economics and Finance · doi:10.1177/29767032251348253 · Cited by 2
Self-citationMarubayashi, N., Yasugi, M., & Takeuchi, Y. (2025) · Evolution · doi:10.1093/evolut/qpaf131 · Cited by 2
Seeing both sides: dogs’ eyes reveal valence-sensitive shifts between emotional states
Simon, T., Wilkinson, A., Guo, K., Mills, D., & Frasnelli, E. (2025) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2025.1578 · Cited by 2
Laterality in naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber)
Dudek, D., Šumbera, R., Konečná, M., & Šlipogor, V. (2026) · Mammalian Biology · doi:10.1007/s42991-025-00539-2 · Cited by 2
Prete, G., Marascia, E., Crosta, A. D., et al. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-38170-x · Cited by 2
Dogs (Canis familiaris) distinguish conspecific emotional chemosignals
Wang, A., & Horowitz, A. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-41426-1 · Cited by 2
Limb asymmetry assessment: Aligning human and dog approaches to laterality
Tommasi, L., Prete, G., Simon, T., et al. (2026) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2026.2637746 · Cited by 2
Effect of Attentional Bias on the 3D Rotated Objects Recognition Ability of Dogs
Siniscalchi, M., d’Ingeo, S., & Quaranta, A. (2023) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani13101673 · Cited by 2
Keuroghlian‐Eaton, S., Sousa, P. D. S., Müller, M. M. P., et al. (2024) · Biotropica · doi:10.1111/btp.13326 · Cited by 2
Lateralization in Invertebrates
Liga, D., & Frasnelli, E. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_7 · Cited by 3
Pellitteri‐Rosa, D., Lazić, M. M., Gazzola, A., et al. (2020) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-020-01406-y · Cited by 2
Self-citationPublic attitude influences actors’ visual orientation*
Lemasson, A., Lippi, D., Hamelin, L., Louazon, S., & Hausberger, M. (2020) · Interaction Studies Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems · doi:10.1075/is.19009.lem · Cited by 2
Baldachini, M., Regaiolli, B., Llorente, M., et al. (2021) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani11113288 · Cited by 2
Brain Monoamine Asymmetry in Chicks Subjected to a Separation-Stress Procedure with Litter Substrate
Bungo, T., Nakasai, E., Takawaki, M., Tanizawa, H., & Kawakami, S.-I. (2014) · The Journal of Poultry Science · doi:10.2141/jpsa.0130171 · Cited by 2
Quercia, A., Bobbo, D., & Mascetti, G. G. (2017) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2017.1347180 · Cited by 2
How Ecology Could Affect Cerebral Lateralization for Explorative Behaviour in Lizards
Bonati, B., Quaresmini, C., Stancher, G., et al. (2017) · Symmetry · doi:10.3390/sym9080144 · Cited by 2
Discrimination surfaces with application to region‐specific brain asymmetry analysis
Martos, G., & de Carvalho, M. (2018) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.7611 · Cited by 2
Manual laterality in marsupials
Ocklenburg, S. (2018) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2018.1524897 · Cited by 2
Robins, A. (2019) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani9090638 · Cited by 2
de Jongh, F. W., Pouwels, S., Kooreman, Z. E., Sanches, E. E., Aupers, E., Ramnarain, D., Beurskens, C. H. G., Monstrey, S., Siemann, I. J., Voermans, N. C., et al. (2022) · European Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1007/s00238-022-01963-0 · Cited by 2
Interhemispheric Brain Communication and the Evolution of Turn-Taking in Mammals
Ravignani, A., Lumaca, M., & Kotz, S. A. (2022) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2022.916956 · Cited by 3
Hopkins, W. D. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-8400-4_10 · Cited by 2
Spontaneous laterality in mouse Crl:CD1
Maciejewska, M., Zięba, K., Szymańska, J., et al. (2015) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2015.1075024 · Cited by 2
Is laterality adaptive? Pitfalls in disentangling the laterality–performance relationship
Paszulewicz, J., Wolski, P., & Gajdek, M. (2019) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2019.11.019 · Cited by 2
Toolkits for Cognition: From Core Knowledge to Genes
Vallortígara, G., & Salva, O. R. (2017) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118540770.ch9 · Cited by 2
Self-citationVallortígara, G., & Versace, E. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1989 · Cited by 2
Self-citationGlobal brain asymmetry and its variations in aging and related diseasesPreprint
Hu, H., Pu, Y., Abuduaini, Y., Wang, X.-D., Francks, C., Thompson, P. M., & Kong, X. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.08.29.610247 · Cited by 2
Numerical Abilities in Nonhumans: The Perspective of Comparative Studies
Rugani, R., & Regolin, L. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-03945-4_39 · Cited by 1
Exploring Brain Size Asymmetry and Its Relationship with Predation Risk Among Chinese Anurans
Chen, C., Jiang, Y., Wu, Y., Cao, L., & Liao, W. B. (2025) · Biology · doi:10.3390/biology14010038 · Cited by 1
Mingolo, S., Prpić, V., Mariconda, A., Agostini, T., & Murgia, M. (2025) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-025-02101-8 · Cited by 1
Manippa, V., Spina, A. C., Cornacchia, E., Malatesta, G., Scaramuzzi, G. F., Semeraro, L., Benedictis, A. D., Rivolta, D., & Taurisano, P. (2024) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2025.2493184 · Cited by 1
The translational value of platyrrhine primates in laterality research
Nelson, E. L., Karimi, A., & Shoukry, C. V. (2025) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2025.2520197 · Cited by 1
Goma, A. A., & Phillips, C. J. C. (2025) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani15142023 · Cited by 1
The relationship between behavioural and hemispheric sleep laterality in dogs
Bolló, H., Gácsi, M., Gombos, F., Topál, J., & Kis, A. (2025) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2025.2577892 · Cited by 1
Sex differences in giant panda paw preferences during bamboo feeding
Snyder, R. J., Barrett, L. P., Hou, R., et al. (2025) · Learning & Behavior · doi:10.3758/s13420-025-00693-0 · Cited by 1
d’Ingeo, S., Siniscalchi, M., Quaranta, A., Cousillas, H., & Hausberger, M. (2025) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani15213217 · Cited by 1
Gjinaj, G., Gatto, E., & Dadda, M. (2025) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-025-02025-1 · Cited by 1
A tale of two ears: development of binaural auditory processing in the big brown bat
Seheult, S. D. I., Molina, S., Chan, N., et al. (2026) · Journal of Comparative Physiology A · doi:10.1007/s00359-026-01816-2 · Cited by 1
Variations of global brain asymmetry are associated with aging and related diseases
Hu, H., Guo, D., Pu, Y., Abuduaini, Y., Wang, X.-D., Francks, C., Thompson, P. M., & Kong, X. (2026) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.adu9309 · Cited by 4
Prete, G., Crosta, A. D., Marascia, E., Malva, P. L., Ceccato, I., & Tommasi, L. (2026) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.70110 · Cited by 1
Reversals of Bodies, Brains, and Behavior
Blackiston, D. J., & Levin, M. G. (2017) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-6725-4_21 · Cited by 1
Nuzhyna, N. V., & Baglay, K. (2016) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.155360 · Cited by 1
Takeuchi, Y. (2022) · Ecological research monographs · doi:10.1007/978-981-19-1342-6_4 · Cited by 1
Visual lateralization in the sky: Geese manifest visual lateralization when flying with pair mates
Zaynagutdinova, E. M., Kölzsch, A., Sinelshikova, A., et al. (2024) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2024.2368587 · Cited by 1
Varanid Teeth Asymmetry and Correlation to Body Size
Sion, G., & D’Amore, D. C. (2025) · Journal of Developmental Biology · doi:10.3390/jdb13010009 · Cited by 1
Penry-Williams, I. L., Brown, C., & Ioannou, C. C. (2025) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.71798 · Cited by 1
Functional Symmetry after Surgical Treatment of Pertrochanteric Fractures in the Elderly
Gawrońska, K., & Lorkowski, J. (2022) · Symmetry · doi:10.3390/sym14020393 · Cited by 1
Reaching versus catching: flexible hand preference in ring-tailed lemurs
Zonato, A., Gagliardo, A., Bandoli, F., et al. (2022) · Ethology Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1080/03949370.2022.2098382 · Cited by 1
Males show their best side revisited – Effects of predation pressure on laterality in wild guppies
Sundin, J., Näslund, J., Mateos‐González, F., Ashworth, W., & Amcoff, M. (2023) · Ethology · doi:10.1111/eth.13376 · Cited by 1
Siniscalchi, M. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1516 · Cited by 1
Rugani, R., Macchinizzi, M., Zhang, Y., et al. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.106356.1 · Cited by 1
Rugani, R., Macchinizzi, M., Zhang, Y., et al. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.106356.2 · Cited by 1
Is hersenlateralisatie verschillend tussen links- en rechtshandigen?
Geuze, R. H., Zickert, N., Beking, T., et al. (2016) · Neuropraxis · doi:10.1007/s12474-016-0128-1
Book Review: Birds Minds. Cognition and Behaviour of Australian Native Birds
Vallortígara, G. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01353
“These latter topics in recent years have developed immensely (e.g., MacNeilage et al., 2009; Rogers et al., 2013) and yet, still tend to remain confined to the realm of specialists.”
BackgroundSelf-citationTract Tracing and Histological Techniques
Ströckens, F., & Güntürkün, O. (2017) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-6725-4_9
Left side cradling and its implications for learning
Forrester, G. S. (2018) · Early Years Educator · doi:10.12968/eyed.2018.20.5.25
Brain Asymmetry of Structure and/or Function
Rogers, L. J. (2019) · Symmetry · doi:10.3390/sym11020214
Self-citationYoung, G. C. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02493-2_8
Young, G. C. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02493-2_7
Obituary for Professor Richard J. Andrew, 1932–2018
Rogers, L. J., & Vallortígara, G. (2019) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2019.1619749
“Asymmetries in these first vertebrates were, Richard hypothesized, the basis of asymmetries extant in all present-day vertebrates, including humans (discussed in Chapter 3 of Rogers et al., 2013).”
BackgroundSelf-citationShen, J., Fang, K., Liu, P., Fan, Y., Yang, J., Shen, D., Song, J., & Fang, G. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Biology · doi:10.1242/jeb.232637
Lateralization at the individual and population levels of European green lizard in Slovak Karst
Pikalík, M., Pipová, N., Majláthová, V., et al. (2021) · acta ethologica · doi:10.1007/s10211-021-00382-x
Versace, E., Sgadó, P., George, J. M., Loveland, J. L., Ward, J., Thorpe, P., Jensen, L. J., Spencer, K. A., Paracchini, S., & Vallortígara, G. (2021) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2021.10.08.463575
Self-citationNumerical Abilities in Nonhumans: The Perspective of Comparative Studies
Rugani, R., & Regolin, L. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-44982-7_39-1
Development, Brain, and Causality
Young, G. C. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-82540-9_3
Numerical and Quantitative Abilities
Kaufman, A. B., Call, J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108564113.029
(2016) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/b20027-34
Olfactory lateralization in non-human mammals: a mini-review
Berezina, E. A., Giljov, A. N., & Андреевна, К. К. (2022) · Biological Communications · doi:10.21638/spbu03.2022.105
Kaplan, G. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_2106-1
Is laterality adaptive? Pitfalls in disentangling the laterality–performance relationshipPreprint
Paszulewicz, J., Wolski, P., & Gajdek, M. (2019) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/t7esj
Young, G. C. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02493-2_2
Siniscalchi, M. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1516-1
Kaplan, G. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1761-1
Kaplan, G. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_2106
Kaplan, G. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1761
Acquisition of Novel Concrete and Abstract Words Through the Textual and Graphical Context
Mkrtychian, N. A., Николаевна, К. С., Gnedykh, D., Tsvetova, D., & Blagovechtchenski, E. (2022) · Психология Журнал Высшей школы экономики · doi:10.17323/1813-8918-2022-1-110-123
Manganese Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging reveals light-induced brain asymmetry in embryoPreprint
Lorenzi, E., Tambalo, S., Vallortígara, G., et al. (2023) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2023.02.02.526801
Self-citationSamuel, O. M., Igado, O. O., & Adekanmbi, A. J. (2023) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2023.2181068
Zaynagutdinova, E. M., Polikarpova, D., & Rozenfeld, S. B. (2023) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2751067/v1
Ocklenburg, S. (2023) · Laterality Asymmetries of Body Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1080/1357650x.2023.2220485
Lateralization of Handedness and Language
Pennisi, P. (2023) · Perspectives in pragmatics, psychology & philosophy · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-42571-4_8
Laporte, M. N. C., & Vialet, A. (2023) · Revue de primatologie · doi:10.4000/primatologie.16751 · Cited by 1
Development of a System for the Evaluation of Body Laterality and Dominance
Comin, F., Urrestarazu, M. L., Mouche, M., et al. (2024) · World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, September 7 - 12, 2009, Munich, Germany · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-51723-5_39
Visual Perception of Threat: Structure, Dynamics, and Individual Differences
Kveraga, K. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-50269-9_5 · Cited by 1
Sunlight and time of the day affect visual lateralisation in Greater White-fronted Geese
Kaskova, K. A., Babkina, O., & Zaynagutdinova, E. M. (2024) · Ornis Hungarica · doi:10.2478/orhu-2024-0008
On the multiplicity of consciousness
Carls‐Diamante, S. (2024) · Philosophical Psychology · doi:10.1080/09515089.2024.2374018
Cerritelli, G., Cioccarelli, S., Gagliardo, A., et al. (2024) · Ethology Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1080/03949370.2024.2358778
Exploring the Relationship between Cradling Asymmetry, Face Recognition, and Personality TraitsPreprint
Manippa, V., Spina, A. C., Cornacchia, E., Malatesta, G., Scaramuzzi, G. F., Semeraro, L., Benedictis, A. D., Rivolta, D., & Taurisano, P. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4965798
Monocular Occlusion Techniques in Birds
Salva, O. R., & Vallortígara, G. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_4
Self-citationImaging Embryonic Brain Lateralization in the Chick
Cavallari, E., Bifone, A., Vallortígara, G., & Lorenzi, E. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_13
Self-citationBlackiston, D. J., & Levin, M. G. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_20
Siniscalchi, M. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_5
Pharmacological Agents and Electrophysiological Techniques
McCabe, B. J. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_9
Rogers, L. J. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_3
Self-citationManipulation of Cerebral Lateralization Strength Through Embryonic Light Stimulation in Birds
Chiandetti, C. (2024) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4240-5_21
Prenatal light exposure affects number sense and the mental number line in young domestic chicks
Rugani, R., Macchinizzi, M., Zhang, Y., & Regolin, L. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.106356.3 · Cited by 9
Dynamic Ontogeny of Auditory Lateralization in the Zebra FinchPreprint
Cataldo, B. F., Dadika, P., & Vicario, D. S. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.03.30.646178
Sakurai, Y., & Ikeda, Y. (2025) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2025.105206
Penry-Williams, I. L., Brown, C., & Ioannou, C. C. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.05.06.652411
Mills, D. L., Dai, L., & Korenberg, J. R. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-94742-3
Metadata
- Authors
- Rogers, L. J., Vallortigara, G., & Andrew, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of New England (AU)
- University of Sussex (GB)
- ORCID
- Rogers, Lesley J.
- Venue
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2013-01-17
- OpenAlex
- W4235046616
- Cited by
- 418
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 12
- FWCI
- 9.25
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Keywords
- hemispheric lateralization, vertebrate brain evolution, brain development, experience-dependent development, comparative neuroanatomy, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review