Lateralized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To develop into a side-oriented pattern or function within a biological or psychological context; to assign or designate specific functions to one hemisphere of the brain; to enhance differences in processes or structures on opposite sides of an organism or system
2. Referring to the process by which systems or functions become oriented or specialized towards the sides, particularly in neural activities; involving the distribution of cognitive abilities across the two hemispheres of the brain; creating or emphasizing asymmetry in function or control within biological structures
3. Describing a tendency for processes to diverge or separate laterally, especially in brain function; allocating distinct roles to each side of an organism’s brain or body; manifesting variations in the functions of symmetrical parts in biology or psychology

Etymology: "Lateralized" is the past tense and past participle of "lateralize," so the story belongs to its base verb. That verb is formed from "lateral," which comes from Latin "lateralis," meaning "of the side," derived from "latus," "side." The suffix "-ize," from Greek "-izein," turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning to make or cause something to be a certain way, so "lateralize" literally means to make something lateral. The sense the word now carries in neuroscience and psychology is a specialized extension of that basic idea. When researchers say a function is lateralized, they mean it is concentrated on one side of a paired organ, most famously language on one hemisphere of the brain, and the word's meaning has narrowed from the general notion of "sidedness" to this technical contrast between left and right.

Synonyms: lateralised

Antonyms: centralized