The right hand man: manual laterality and language

Forrester, Gillian and Quaresmini, C. (2012) The right hand man: manual laterality and language. In: Csermely, D. and Regolin, L. (eds.) Behavioral Lateralization in Vertebrates: Two Sides of the Same Coin. Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag, pp. 125-141. ISBN 9783642302022.

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30203-9_9

Abstract

Investigations of human laterality suggest motor preference is not arbitrary, but rather represents an evolutionary bias stemming from the asymmetric organization of underlying neural function for skilled action. The most prominent manifestation of lateralized motor behavior in humans is right-handedness. While human right-handedness provides a highly reliable marker for the brain organization of left hemisphere language function, the causal evolutionary link between the two remains highly controversial. Once considered a unique hallmark of human evolution, structural neuroanatomical investigations have now revealed homologous asymmetric language regions (larger left hemisphere) in great apes, providing evidence for a common mechanism underlying communication processes in humans and apes. However, whether this translates into a handedness bias in great apes remains highly controversial. This chapter discusses the unique characteristics of human and non-human primate handedness within an evolutionary framework and explores new manual laterality findings, celebrating the emergence of multimodal, quantitative methodologies aimed at bridging the gap between studies of brain and behavior.

Metadata

Item Type:	Book Section
School:	Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
Depositing User:	Administrator
Date Deposited:	14 Nov 2016 11:55
Last Modified:	02 Aug 2023 17:27
URI:	https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/16698

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