Abstract
A survey of the developmental, genetic, paleoneurological, comparative behavior, and neuropsychological evidence indicates that the neural organization responsible for handedness and laterality in humans is a heritable, species-specific trait. Handedness and laterality in monkeys, the most intensively studied nonhuman taxon, are not homologous to handedness and laterality in humans. Monkeys learn hand preferences through experience and display no difference in learning by the hemispheres ipsi- and contralateral to the preferred hand. Differences in the functions of the two hemispheres are found in several other nonhuman species, but none has been correlated with paw preferences.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference Note
Dewson, J. H. Personal communication, 1976.
References
Annett, M. The distribution of manual asymmetry. British Journal of Psychology; 1972, 63, 343–358.
Beck, C. H. M., & Barton, R. L. Deviation and laterality of hand preference in monkeys. Cortex, 1972, 7, 339–363.
Blau, A. The master hand. New York: American Orthopsychiatric Association, 1946.
Briggs, G., & Nebes, R. Patterns of hand preference in a student population. Cortex, 1975, 11, 230–238.
Brookshire, K. H., & Warren, J. M. The generality and consistency of handedness in monkeys. Animal Behaviour, 1962, 10, 222–227.
Butler, C. R. A memory-record for visual discrimination habits produced in both cerebral hemispheres of monkey when only one hemisphere has received direct visual information. Brain Research, 1968, 10, 152–167.
Collins, R. L. On the inheritance of handedness: I. Laterality in inbred mice. Journal of Heredity, 1968, 59, 9–12.
Collins, R. L. On the inheritance of handedness: II. Selection for sinistrality in mice. Journal of Heredity, 1969, 60, 117–119.
Collins, R. L., & Ward, R. Evidence for an asymmetry of cerebral function in mice tested for audiogenic seizures. Nature, 1970, 226, 1062–1063.
Coren, S., & Porac, C. Fifty centuries of right-handedness: The historical record. Science, 1977, 198, 631–632.
Cronholm, J. N., Grodsky, M., & Behar, I. Situational factors in the lateral preferences of rhesus monkeys. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1963, 103, 167–174.
Dart, R. A. The predatory implement technique of Australopithecus. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1949, 7, 1–38.
Dawson, J. L. M. B. An anthropological perspective on the evolution and lateralization of the brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1977, 299, 424–447.
Dennenberg, V. H., Garbanati, J., Sherman, G., Yutzey, D., & Kaplan, R. Infantile stimulation induces brain lateralization in rats. Science, 1978, 201, 1150–1152.
Deuel, R. K. 30 monkeys without cerebral dominance. Neurology, 1975, 25, 389.
Dewsbury, D. A. Patterns of copulatory behavior in male mammals. Quarterly Review of Biology, 1972, 47, 1–33.
Dewsbury, D. A. Diversity and adaptation in rodent copulatory behavior. Science, 1975, 190, 947–954.
Dewson, J. H. Some behavioral effects of removal of superior temporalcortex in the monkey. In D. J. Chivers & J. Herbert (Eds.), Recent advances in primatology (Vol. 1). London: Academic Press, 1978.
Dimond, S. J. Evolution and lateralization of the brain. Annals of theNew York Academy of Sciences, 1977, 299, 477–501.
Downer, J. L. Interhemispheric integration in the visual system. In V. B. Mountcastle (Ed.), Interhemispheric relations and cerebral dominance. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1962.
Ebner, F. F., & Myers, R. E. Corpus callosum and the interhemispheric transmission of tactual learning. Journal of Neurophysiology, 1962, 25, 380–391.
Ettlinger, G., Blakemore, C., & Milner, A. Opposite hand preferences in two sense-modalities. Nature, 1968, 218, 1276.
Ettlinger, G., & Dawson, R. F. Hand preferences in the monkey: The effect of unilateral cortical removals. Neuropsychologia, 1969, 7, 161–166.
Falek, A. Handedness, a family study. American Journal of Human Genetics, 1959, 11, 52–62.
Finch, G. Chimpanzee handedness. Science, 1941, 94, 117–118.
Fuster, J. M., & Bauer, R. H. Visual short-term memory deficit from hypothermia of frontal cortex. Brain Research, 1974, 81, 393–400.
Hamilton, C. R. An assessment of hemispheric specialization in monkeys. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1977, 299, 222–232. (a)
Hamilton, C. R. Investigations of perceptual and mnemonic lateralization in monkeys. In S. Harnad, R. W. Doty, L. Goldstein, J. Jaynes, & G. Krautheimer (Eds.), Lateralization in the nervous system. New York: Academic Press, 1977. (b)
Hamilton, C. R., & Gazzanaga, M. Lateralization of learning of colour and brightness discriminations following brain bisection. Nature, 1964, 201, 220.
Hécaen, H., & Albert, M. L. Human neuropsychology. New York: Wiley, 1978.
Hécaen, H., & de Ajuriaguerra, J. Left-handedness. New York: Greene & Stratton, 1964.
Hewes, G. W. Current status of the gestural theory of language origin. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 482–504.
Hicks, R. E., & Kinsbourne, M. On the genesis of human handedness: A review. Journal of Motor Behavior, 1976, 8, 257–266.
Hicks, R. E., & Kinsbourne, M. Human handedness. In M. Kinsbourne (Ed.), Asymmetrical function of the brain. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Holloway, R. L. Paleoneurological evidence for language origins. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 330–348.
Lehman, R. A. W. Hand preference and cerebral predominance in 24 rhesus monkeys. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 1970, 10, 185–192.
Lehman, R. A. W. The handedness of rhesus monkeys—I. Distribution. Neuropsychologia, 1978, 16, 33–42.
Lehman, R. A. W., & Spencer, D. D. Hand preference and hemispheric learning in the monkey. Experimental Neurology, 1972, 36, 88–100.
LeMay, M. Morphological cerebral asymmetries of modern man, fossil man, and nonhuman primate. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 349–366.
Levy, J. A review of evidence for a genetic component in the determination of handedness. Behavior Genetics, 1976, 6, 429–453.
Levy, J. The mammalian brain and the adaptive advantage of cerebral asymmetry. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1977, 299, 264–272.
Marshack, A. Some implications of the paleolithic symbolic evidence for the origin of language. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 289–311.
Martin, D., & Webster, W. G. Paw preference shifts following forced practice. Physiology & Behavior, 1974, 13, 745–748.
McGonigle, B., & Floor, J. The learning of hand preferences by squirrel monkeys. Psychological Research, 1978, 40, 93–98.
Montagu, A. Tool making, hunting and the origin of language. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 266–274.
Nottebohm, F. Asymmetries in neural control of vocalization in the canary. In S. Harnad, R. W. Doty, L. Goldstein, J. Jaynes, & G. Krautheimer (Eds.), Lateralization in the nervous system. New York: Academic Press, 1977.
Perelló, J. Digressions on the biological foundations of language. Journal of Communication Disorders, 1970, 3, 140–149.
Petersen, M. R., Beecher, M. D., Zoloth, S. R., Moody, D. B., & Stebbins, W. C. Neural lateralization of species-specific vocalizations by Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Science, 1978, 202, 324–327.
Pribram, K. H. Hemispheric specialization: Evolution or revolution. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1977, 299, 18–22.
Reynolds, P. C. Handedness and the evolution of the primate forelimb. Neuropsychologia, 1975, 13, 499–500.
Robinson, R. G. Differential behavioral and biochemical effects of right and left hemispheric cerebral infarction in the rat. Science, 1979, 205, 707–710.
Rothe, H. Handedness in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1973, 38, 561–565.
Sackheim, H. A., Gur, R., & Saucy, M. C. Emotions are expressed more intensely on the left side of the face. Science, 1978, 202, 434–436.
Sherman, G. F., Garbanati, J. A., Rosen, G. D., Yutzey, D. A., & Dennenberg, V. H. Brain and behavioral asymmetries for spatial preference in rats. Brain Research, 1980, 192, 61–67.
Stamm, J. S., Gadotti, A., & Rosen, S. C. Interhemispheric functional differences in prefrontal cortex of monkeys. Journal of Neurobiology, 1975, 6, 39–49.
Steklis, H. D., & Harnad, S. R. From hand to mouth: Some critical stages in the evolution of language. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 445–455.
Tsal, L., & Maurer, S. Right handedness in white rats. Science, 1930, 72, 436–438.
Uhrbrock, R. S. Laterality in art. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1973, 32, 27–35.
Valenstein, E. S. Brain control. New York: Wiley, 1973.
Wada, J. A., Clark, R., & Hamm, A. Cerebral hemispheric asymmetry in humans: Cortical speech zones in 100 adult and 100 infant brains. Archives of Neurology, 1975, 32, 239–246.
Warren, J. M. Handedness in the rhesus monkey. Science, 1953, 118, 622–623.
Warren, J. M. The development of paw preferences in cats and monkeys. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1958, 93, 229–236.
Warren, J. M. Handedness and cerebral dominance in monkeys. In S. Harnad, R. W. Doty, L. Goldstein, J. Jaynes, & G. Krautheimer (Eds.), Lateralization in the nervous system. New York: Academic Press, 1977.
Warren, J. M., Abplanalp, J. M., & Warren, H. B. The development of handedness in cats and rhesus monkeys. In H. W. Stevenson, E. H. Hess, & H. Rheingold (Eds.), Early behavior: Comparative developmental approaches. New York: Wiley, 1967.
Warren, J. M., Cornwell, P. R., & Warren, H. B. Unilateral frontal lesions and learning by rhesus monkeys. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1969, 69, 498–505.
Warren, J. M., Grant, R., Hara, K., & Leary, R. W. Impaired learning by monkeys with unilateral lesions in association cortex. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1963, 56, 241–253.
Warren, J. M., & Kolb, B. Generalizations in neuropsychology. In S. Finger (Ed.), Recovery from brain damage. New York: Plenum, 1978.
Warren, J. M., & Nonneman, A. J. The search for cerebral dominance in monkeys. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1976, 280, 732–744.
Wile, I. S. Handedness: Right and left. Boston: Lathrop, Lee & Shepard, 1934.
Witelson, S. F. Sex and the single hemisphere: Specialization of the right hemisphere for spatial processing. Science, 1976, 193, 425–426.
Zimmerberg, B., Glick, S. D., & Jerussi, T. P. Neurochemical correlate of a spatial preference in rats. Science, 1974, 185, 623–625.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Warren, J.M. Handedness and laterality in humans and other animals. Psychobiology 8, 351–359 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337470
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337470