19th – 22nd August 2026, Brighton
The North Sea Laterality Meeting is held every two years and brings together researchers from a wide range of fields to explore the fascinating world of brain laterality, brain asymmetry, and interhemispheric interaction. The program includes work on both humans and animals, making it a truly interdisciplinary event.
This meeting is a welcoming space to discuss behavioural, psychological, neural, and genetic perspectives on hemispheric differences, as well as their importance for understanding clinical conditions. The conference prides itself on bringing together leading experts in laterality, and facilitating opportunities for lively conversations, the sharing new findings, and building of collaborations.
We welcome researchers at any stage of their career to participate in sharing their work as either an oral or poster presentation. The North Sea Meeting on Laterality is a great chance to connect with colleagues from around the North Sea region—and beyond.
A pre-conference workshop on novel laterality datasets and a post-conference excursion pairing a tour of the iconic Royal Pavilion with a food-tasting tour of Brighton’s best independent food vendors -will further contribute to a stimulating conference experience.
A conference program and detailed general information will be forthcoming.
Announcing Keynote Speakers!
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Lesley J. Rogers is Emeritus Professor at the University of New England, where she was Professor of Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour. She completed her D. Phil. degree at the University of Sussex and was later awarded a D.Sc. by the same university. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society of New South Wales. Her discovery of asymmetry of visual behaviour in the chick was one of the first three studies showing behavioural laterality in nonhuman species. Subsequently, she researched the topic on a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Her publications include numerous papers and books on development and function of brain lateralization (e.g., books with Richard Andrew “Comparative Vertebrate Lateralization” and with Giorgio Vallortigara “Divided Brains: The Biology and Behaviour of Brain Asymmetries”, both CUP). She is a co-editor of the journal Laterality: Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition.
Luca Tommasi is Full Professor of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Chieti-Pescara. Trained in psychology at the University of Padua, his research investigates neural and behavioural lateralization at the intersection of cognitive, evolutionary and developmental perspectives. He has coordinated an EU-funded project on brain asymmetries and published over 160 scientific articles
Guy Vingerhoets is a Full Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at Ghent University, Belgium. His research interests include structural and functional brain asymmetries and their effect on behavior and cognition. Guy is passionate about investigating atypical phenotypes of laterality and how they influence brain-behavior relationships.
Conference Details
Registration
We are delighted to invite you to register for the 10th North Sea Meeting on Laterality in Brighton 19th-22nd August 2026!
*Due to the size of our venue, we will be capping registration at 80 delegates. Based on bookings to date, we have exceeded half capacity.
Early bird: (Student) Before 1st April 2026: £180
Early bird: (Full) Before 1st April 2026: £240
Standard: (Student) After 1st April 2026: £200
Standard: (Full) After 1st April 2026: £260
You can book your early bird place via card payment here – or paste the URL below directly into your browser:
https://onlineshop.sussex.ac.uk/product-catalogue/conference-seminars/school-of-psychology/10th-north-sea-meeting-on-laterality-brighton-2026-19th-22nd-august.
*If you prefer to pay by bank transfer – please see details below.
**There are a limited number of £200 bursaries for students and/or early career researchers without supervisor/lab funding. To request funding, please email directly to committee member/science event organiser: Jane Waller (janemwaller@gmail.com) with the subject line: FLIR FUNDING.
Conference registration includes:
Pre-conference workshop and Conference Day 1 (19th August)
Welcome Drinks Reception (evening 19th August)
Conference Day 2 (20th August) (lunch, snacks, coffee, tea)
Conference Day 3 (21st August)(lunch, snacks, coffee, tea)
Conference Dinner (21st August) (terre à terre)
To register by bank transfer please use the following details:
Account name: University of Sussex
Account number: 40880914
Sort code: 20 49 84
*Please include your full name and the *Conference Cost Code SA003-10 to which your payment should be credited as the reference for your payment.*Without this information, we will not be able to allocate your payment correctly.
For international payments only, the details are as below: Swift code (BIC): BARCGB22 (International including Eurozone) IBAN: GB87 BARC 2049 8440 8809 14 (Eurozone)
For queries please contact g.forrester@sussex.ac.uk
Talk and Poster Abstract Submissions
We are now accepting abstracts for talks and posters!
Abstract deadline: 15th May, 2026
Notification: 31st May, 2026
Please submit your abstract directly to: northsealaterality2026@gmail.com
Abstracts must be written in English, max 300 words. Please follow the guidance below when preparing your abstract:
Title: concise and in sentence case (max 20 words)
Authors/Affiliations: list all contributors; mark presenting author.
Presentation Type: state ORAL or POSTER
Keywords: include 3–5 keywords.
Structure: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
Style: Times New Roman, 12 pt, single spacing.
*Please note that it is not required that abstract submissions are based on completed research with a full set of results. Research with preliminary findings is permissible.
Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and accepted abstracts will be assigned as oral or poster presentations.
Conference Venue
The conference, including the Welcome Reception, will take place at Projects, Nile Street, Brighton BN1 1HW. Projects is in the famous Lanes (dating back to the 16th Century) in the heart of the city of Brighton and a short stroll away from the seafront.
The link to the conference venue is here:
Accommodation
We have collaborated with Visit Brighton to provide a convenient online accommodation portal showing hotel options and prices.
Please click here or use the link below to view a range of options within close walking distance of the conference venue.
Pre-Conference Workshop
Pre-conference Workshop Brief: The aim of the pre-workshop is to discuss new methodologies that could open up under-explored research questions within laterality or push laterality research forward into new areas. This could be anything from detecting and measuring laterality in continuous and/or longitudinal data sets to novel and/or translational methods developed for human and/or non-human animal species (vertebrate and invertebrate).
We ask people to please come prepared to talk about your methodology for 5-10 minutes this will be followed by discussion about where these methods may take us and what research they may enable.
To allow for fruitful discussion, participation in this workshop will be capped at 20 delegates.
If you are interested in participating in the workshop or if you have any questions, please contact Gilly Forrester: g.forrester@sussex.ac.uk.
Post-Conference Excursion
A uniquely Brighton excursion featuring a guided Royal Pavilion & Gardens tour followed by a walking Food & Drink Tasting Tour!
We are pleased to offer an optional group excursion to enjoy the delights of the vibrant and historic City of Brighton on Saturday 22nd August.
We will start the morning at 10am at the stunning Brighton Royal Pavilion. Here we will explore the Chinese-inspired pleasure palace of the extravagant King George IV on a 60-minute expert guided tour.
The excursion will continue with a bespoke 90-minute walking food & drink tour activity with our own guide(s) to experience the best of Brighton’s independent foods, local drinks, unique stories, and eclectic sights.
We will complete the excursion at a central Brighton location where everyone can stay on for additional food and drink as desired (not included in the price)..
The tour is suitable for all mobility and dietary requirements .
The price for the package of activities is £79 including the food and drinks on the way.
*If you are travelling with family and/or friends and wish to purchase additional spaces, please contact me for additional information: g.forrester@sussex.ac.uk
Arrival and Getting Around
The closest airport to Brighton is London Gatwick. From Gatwick there are frequent trains into Brighton station. Once at Brighton station there are taxis to the rear of the station or the walk to the venue and hotels and the seafront is approximately 15 minutes.
Brighton is a compact city with many attractions including:
The historic Brighton Pavillion: https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/visit/royal-pavilion-garden/
The quirky shops and eateries of the North Laine https://www.visitbrighton.com/food-and-drink/areas-to-explore/north-laine
The theatre district https://www.visitbrighton.com/things-to-do/entertainment-and-venues/theatres
Seafront attractions including Brighton Pier and the i360 can be reached on foot.
The Visit Brighton website has comprehensive information on the many cultural locations and events in our vibrant city.
https://www.visitbrighton.com/
Organising Committee
- Gillian Forrester, University of Sussex
- Hannah Rowan, University of Sussex
- Georgina Donati, University of Oxford
- Saber Sotoodeh, University of Sussex
- Perrine Theroude, University of Sussex
- Marianne Paisley, University of Sussex
- Jane Waller: Event Manager