Handedness: dependent asymmetrical location of the human primary gustatory area, area G.

In magnetoencephalogram studies, the primary gustatory area, area G, is not always seen in the same coronal plane in both hemispheres. We investigated possible asymmetry in right-handed and left-handed individuals by functional MRI. Group analyses revealed a significant difference in the antero-posterior coordinates of the area G between the right and left hemispheres in the right-handed group, but not in the left-handed group, indicating significant morphometric asymmetry in the former group and ambiguous morphometric asymmetry in the latter. However, in left-handed individuals with motor speech areas detected in the right hemisphere, area G was more posteriorly located in the right than in the left hemisphere. These findings suggest that the motor speech area contributes to the asymmetric location of area G.