Auditory Cortex Asymmetries Relate to Vocabulary Knowledge Because of Shared Polygenic Influences

A longstanding cerebral lateralization hypothesis predicts that atypical development of leftward structural asymmetry of auditory cortex explains why children have language learning problems. Auditory cortex surface area asymmetry and language-related measures exhibited small effect associations that were explained by a polygenic scores for general intelligence. The results provide support a cerebral lateralization hypothesis for understanding language learning.