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Abstract
The planum temporale (PT) is a triangular-shaped region of the cerebral cortex that is e.g. implicated in language-related processes. The PT shows a leftward asymmetry in the general population, meaning that this structure is generally larger in the left hemisphere compared to the right hemisphere. We studied the involvement of genetic variants in PT asymmetry, and found a heritability of roughly 14%. In addition, two specific locations on the genome showed significant association with PT asymmetry. These regions were found to have an effect on brain volume asymmetry that extended somewhat beyond the PT. Although PT asymmetry has previously been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, we found no significant genetic overlap with such phenotypes. Overall, these findings provide novel insights into the genetic contributions to human brain asymmetry.