diff --git a/src/dynamic_routing_analysis/plot_utils.py b/src/dynamic_routing_analysis/plot_utils.py
index 4e8895d..553dba4 100644
--- a/src/dynamic_routing_analysis/plot_utils.py
+++ b/src/dynamic_routing_analysis/plot_utils.py
@@ -927,8 +927,12 @@ def plot_brain_heatmap(
     # clean up inputs
     regions = np.array(regions)
     values = np.array(values)
+    if values.shape[0] == 2 and values.shape[1] != 2:
+        values = values.T
     if sagittal_planes is None:
         sagittal_planes = []
+    elif not isinstance(sagittal_planes, Iterable):
+        sagittal_planes = (sagittal_planes, )
     else:
         sagittal_planes = tuple(sagittal_planes) # type: ignore
     if clevels is None:
@@ -937,7 +941,6 @@ def plot_brain_heatmap(
         clevels = tuple(clevels) # type: ignore
         if len(clevels) != 2:
             raise ValueError("clevels must be a sequence of length 2")
-
     # set up kwargs that are shared between all axes
     joint_kwargs = {
         'regions': regions,