A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF FUNCTIONAL BRAIN ASYMMETRY IN STUDENTS

The success of students’ adaptation to the educational process at a university is largely determined by the characteristics of the lateral specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. At the same time, variability in the functional interaction of the hemispheres is possible to ensure an optimal level of adaptation in changing conditions. The dynamics of functional brain asymmetry (FBA) was studied in junior medical students in different years (2015–2022). The examined 194 Yakut students of 1^st–2^nd years of the Institute of Medicine, NEFU, 18– 23 years old, were divided into 4 groups by year and subgroups: those writing with their left hand and those writing with their right hand. The profile of the lateral phenotype of the brain and the degree of asymmetry were determined using asymmetry coefficients (Ka). To estimate Ka, the mean and quartile values  were found. When comparing interannual Ka values, the nonparametric Wilcoxon rank method was used. Over 7 years, an increase in right-handedness and right-footedness in students was revealed, with right-handedness by 25 %, and right-footedness by 12.3 %. Along with the increase in right-handedness and right-footedness, the average Ka increased, and its quartile values  shifted significantly to the right. By 2022, the proportion of right-eyed people among right-handed people decreased by 20 % and the average Ka decreased to -0.05. There was a shift in the first quartile of Ka to -1, which corresponds to the symmetry of the eyes. In left-handed people, over 7 years lefthandedness decreased by 22.6 %, and left-footedness – by 42.2 %. The average Ka of the arms and legs decreased, the symmetry of the leg was established and the third quartile significantly deviated in the positive direction. The incidence of the dominant left eye decreased by 2022 by 38.1 % compared to 2015. The decrease in the incidence of left-eyedness is accompanied by a decrease in both the average and median values  of Ka, which indicates the symmetry of the function of this organ in left-handed people at the end of the seven-year period.

Conclusions: Longitudinal studies of functional brain asymmetry in junior medical students indicate a trend towards dominance of the left hemisphere, which should help increase the level of development of cognitive functions and improve the adaptive capabilities of students in educational activities.

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