Synonyms
Laterality
Definition
Handedness is the preferential use of, or superior performance with, one hand for the completion of manual tasks.
Current Knowledge
The manifestation of motor asymmetry is easily observed in one’s preference for and/or the superior skill with which one carries out unilateral manual tasks such as writing or throwing a ball. (NB: Preference for one hand does not necessarily lead to better performance with that hand.) In virtually all right-handers, this manual superiority is mediated by the same hemisphere that is dominant for language, namely the left. In left-handers, this is less frequently the case as the left hemisphere is still more commonly the dominant hemisphere for language. It should be noted that hand preference is imperfectly associated with other peripheral lateralized functions such as footedness and eyedness.
Until recently, the association between the functional asymmetry of hand preference and any neuroanatomic correlates had not been...
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References and Readings
Amunts, K., Schlaug, G., Schleicher, A., Steinmetz, H., Dabringhaus, A., Roland, P. E., et al. (1996). Asymmetry in the human motor cortex and handedness. NeuroImage, 4(3), 216–222.
Fennell, E. (1986). Handedness in neuropsychological research. In H. J. Hannay (Ed.), Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology. New York: Oxford Univeristy Press.
Howieson, D., Loring, D., & Hannay, H. J. (2004). Neurobehavioral variables and diagnostic issues. In M. Lezak, D. Howieson, & D. Loring (Eds.), Neuropsycholgical assessment (4th ed., pp. 304–307). New York: Oxford University Press.
Schenker, N. M., Sherwood, C. C., Hof, P. R., & Semendeferi, K. (2007). Microstructural asymmetries of the cerebral cortex in humans and other mammals. Special Topics in Primatology, 5, 92–118.
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Romero, M. (2018). Handedness. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_685
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_685
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