What does lack of language lateralization signify? Evidence of fluctuating asymmetry rather than hemispheric equipoise on non-lateralized tasks

Abstract

In a study of patterns of language laterality in left- and right-handers, Woodhead et al . (Woodhead ZVJ, Thompson PA, Karlsson EM, Bishop DVM. 2021 R. Soc. Open Sci . 8 , 200696. (doi: 10.1098/rsos.200696 )) noted that several tasks showed no bias to the left hemisphere in left-handed individuals. This might appear to suggest that these functions were mediated by the two hemispheres working together equally—what can be termed ‘hemispheric equipoise’. Here, I consider an alternative possibility that individuals show lateral bias on these tasks, but the bias can occur to either the left or right—a form of fluctuating asymmetry. Further analysis of the distributions of data from individuals in Woodhead et al. is compared with simulated data. The pattern of results suggests that the impression of hemispheric equipoise may be an artefact of reliance on group data: even though the group mean does not differ from zero, a high proportion of individuals are biased to the left or right.