Fig. 4: Functional decoding of derived asymmetry patterns spotlights language and hearing.

We performed a functional profiling assay based on the obtained LDA asymmetry patterns using the NeuroSynth resource. To that end, we first map the 16p11.2 and 22q11.2 deletion LDA coefficients on the brain. Resulting whole-brain signatures summarize the asymmetry differences between controls and respective CNV carriers. We then contextualized the whole-brain asymmetry signatures by means of curated NeuroSynth activation maps. a Top associated NeuroSynth keywords. Word cloud plot depicts the 50 most strongly associated NeuroSynth keywords for each of the two CNVs. b Functional associations with LDA patterns. Circular bar plots display the 12 most strongly associated keywords after filtering out terms related to brain anatomy. Y-axis corresponds to the similarity (Pearson’s correlation) between the brain map of LDA coefficients and the respective NeuroSynth activation map. c Similarity in functional profiles of both CNVs. Each axis shows the correlation between the 3228 term-specific NeuroSynth activation maps and a given CNV-specific asymmetry pattern. The strong linear relationship demonstrates that both CNVs are associated with similar functions. d NeuroSynth meta-analysis along ranked LDA coefficients using 24 topic terms. We calculated the weighted score of activation maps and ranked LDA asymmetry patterns. Terms are ordered by the weighted mean of their location along the LDA coefficient spectrum. Negative LDA coefficients (blue) correspond to decreased leftward or increased rightward asymmetry, and vice versa for positive coefficients (red). The negative coefficients are associated with language and hearing for both CNVs. The positive coefficients are associated with face processing and visual perception. 16p11.2 and 22q11.2 deletion impact the laterality of higher-order functional systems, including language, hearing, and visual perception.