Hemispheric asymmetries, that is, the functional or structural differences between the left and the right hemispheres of the brain, are one of the major organizational principles of the human nervous system. Many cognitive systems are asymmetrically organized, including among others, language, memory, social cognition, spatial attention and emotion. Interestingly, hemispheric asymmetries seem to be altered in a number of neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders, making a profound knowledge of the topic important for clinicians, too.

The widespread use of modern neuroimaging...