Patterns of Language and Visuospatial Lateralisation and Cognitive Ability in Young Children Aged 4–7 Years

Previous research suggests that the development of lateralisation throughout childhood might be related to individual differences in cognitive ability, but evidence from early childhood is lacking. The current study aimed to determine if there is a relationship between patterns of language and visuospatial lateralisation and cognitive ability in young children. We assessed the cerebral lateralisation of language and visuospatial processing in a large sample of 4-7-year-old children (n = 127) using functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD). We found that being typically lateralised for language and visuospatial processing was related to better verbal comprehension ability for 4-5-year-olds. Lateralisation was not related to visuospatial ability or reading ability at any age. These findings suggest that verbal comprehension might be uniquely related to lateralisation, possibly due to its recruitment of both left and right hemispheric resources and a possible influence of mental imagery use during comprehension. SUMMARY: We assessed the cerebral lateralisation of language and visuospatial processing in 127 children aged 4-7 years using functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound. Better verbal comprehension ability was associated with being more typically lateralised for both processes in 4- and 5-year-olds. The crowding of cognitive processes in the same hemisphere was not associated with poorer cognitive or academic performance.