RIGHT OR LEFT, HAND OR MOUTH: GENERA-SPECIFIC PREFERENCES IN MARMOSETS AND TAMARINS

Behaviour ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schwibbe ◽  
Silke Singer
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Hand Preferences

Hand use was compared in 45 individuals of three genera of the Callitrichinae (Callithrix, Saguinus, Leontopithecus) which differ concerning their postural and manipulative behaviour. The Postural Origins theory of MacNeilage et al. (1987) predicts left-hand preference for visually guided reaching, especially when performed from a vertical clinging posture (as mainly seen in Callithrix) and right-hand preference for manipulative acts (as shown by Leontopithecus). Five tasks were carried out, differing in sensory modality (visual/tactile), postural requirements (vertical/quadrupedal) and task demands (accessibility to food-items). Data on successful left and right-hand reaching and mouth pick-ups were collected using all occurrences sampling. Statistical analysis comprised calculation of binominal z-score, application of unbalanced repeated measures models with structured covariance matrices and analysis of covariance. All individuals displayed hand preferences not influenced by task design. The genera differed in the hand preferred: Leontopithecus showed a greater proportion of right-hand preferences, whereas Callithrix tended to prefer the left hand. Saguinus was intermediate between these two genera. The results point out that genus-specific foraging strategies determine population-level hand preferences rather than task-specific demands. The differences in foraging strategy and hand preference among the three genera correspond to the Postural Origins theory (MacNeilage et al., 1987). When feeding on freely accessible, non-mobile food items, most individuals showed a clear preference in picking-up with the mouth or with one hand. Callithrix took objects predominantly with the mouth, Leontopithecus preferred the hand and Saguinus favoured neither mouth nor hand. Mouth-hand preferences can also be linked to genera differences on hand function in foraging behaviour.

Foot Performance of Right- and Left-Handers: A Question of Environmental Influence

1995 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 671-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Gabbard ◽  
Susan Hart
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Influence ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Adequate Explanation ◽  
Driving Experience ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right

Prior research has shown that right-handed adults perform better on a speed-tapping task with the right hand and right foot, while left-handers execute more rapidly with the left hand and right foot. Speculation is that environmental influence, most likely driving experience, may account for the right-foot bias. To examine this hypothesis further, 48 young right- and left-handed children were tested on a similar protocol. Analyses indicated no significant differences in foot performance within hand-preference groups. Since these findings do not complement reports for adults, factors such as experience or maturation might contribute to the difference. Were patterns similar, the effect of environmental influence would be assumed to be small. However, much more evidence is needed before an adequate explanation can be developed. The issue of possible environmental influence is discussed from various theoretical perspectives.

Do Monkeys Choose the More Skillful Hand in Manual Problem-Solving?

1998 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanari Kinoshita
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Macaca Fuscata ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Performance Time ◽  
Japanese Monkeys ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Manual Skills ◽  
The Relationship

To investigate the relationship between manual skills and hand preference in 4 female Japanese monkeys ( Macaca fuscata), the technique of concurrent investigation of manual skills and hand preference was introduced. 4 female Japanese monkeys were required to take food out of a pipe using the left hand and right hand alternately. The performance time and the number of deviations from alternate sequence were recorded as measure of manual skills and hand preference. In the result, the preferred hand was not always consistently the skillful one; however, only one subject tended to choose the more skillful hand in problem-solving, and another subject learned the alternate sequence of reaching. The performances of two subjects indicated discrimination of both hands in Japanese monkeys is possible.

scholarly journals Hemispheric antagonism in visuo-spatial neglect: A case study

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 412-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Marshall ◽  
Peter W. Halligan
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Line Bisection ◽  
Spatial Neglect ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Right ◽  
Line Bisection Task

AbstractWe report a case of severe visuo-spatial neglect consequent upon right-hemisphere stroke. At the time of testing, the patient had no visual field cut and no significant hemiparesis. Conventional testing on cancellation tasks with the right hand revealed reliable left neglect, but performance was significantly improved when the left hand was used. Investigations of (manual) line bisection showed normal performance with the right hand but right neglect when the left hand was used. Right neglect was also observed on a purely perceptual version of the line bisection task. We argue that the attentional vectors of the cerebral hemispheres can be modulated by (perceptual) task-demands and by (motorie) response demands. (JINS, 1996, 2, 412–418.)

scholarly journals Timucua Hand Use: Dispelling the Myth of Left-Hand Preference

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Aaron Broadwell
Keyword(s):  
Hand Preference ◽  
Universal Property ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Central Florida ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
The Right

At the time of Spanish contact, the Timucua were the original people of northern central Florida. Granberry (1996) claimed in a provocative article that Timucua constitutes an exception to the universal or near-universal property of preference for the right hand, and showed a preference for the left hand instead. This article critically examines Granberry's argument, and shows that there is no good linguistic evidence to support left-hand preference in Timucua

Role of Prenatal Position in Grasp-Reflex Asymmetry in Human Neonates

1994 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uner Tan
Keyword(s):  
Hand Preference ◽  
Full Term ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Neonates ◽  
Right And Left Hands

Grasp-reflex strengths were quantitatively measured from the right and left hands of 70 full-term human neonates. The right-left grasp-reflex linearly correlated with grasp-reflex only of the right hand in neonates with a right-ear-facing-out prenatal position. In neonates with left-ear-facing-out prenatal position, this grasp-reflex linearly increased with the grasp-reflex of the right hand and linearly decreased with the grasp reflex of the left hand. It was suggested that grasp-reflex asymmetry in neonates may, at least partly, depend upon prenatal position, which may also influence the later developing hand preference in humans.

scholarly journals Hand and paw preferences in relation to the lateralized brain

2008 ◽  
Vol 364 (1519) ◽  
pp. 943-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley J Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Brain Structure ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Broad Perspective ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Hand Preferences

Hand preferences of primates are discussed as part of the broad perspective of brain lateralization in animals, and compared with paw preferences in non-primates. Previously, it has been suggested that primates are more likely to express a species-typical hand preference on complex tasks, especially in the case of coordinated hand use in using tools. I suggest that population-level hand preferences are manifested when the task demands the obligate use of the processing specialization of one hemisphere, and that this depends on the nature of the task rather than its complexity per se . Depending on the species, simple reaching tasks may not demand the obligate use of a specialized hemisphere and so do not constrain limb/hand use. In such cases, individuals may show hand preferences that are associated with consistent differences in behaviour. The individual's hand preference is associated with the expression of behaviour controlled by the hemisphere contralateral to the preferred hand (fear and reactivity in left-handed individuals versus proactivity in right-handed individuals). Recent findings of differences in brain structure between left- and right-handed primates (e.g. somatosensory cortex in marmosets) have been discussed and related to potential evolutionary advances.

Editorial Note

1946 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-2
Keyword(s):  
Editorial Note ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Hand Column ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Infant Speech ◽  
The Right

In the article “Infant Speech Sounds and Intelligence” by Orvis C. Irwin and Han Piao Chen, in the December 1945 issue of the Journal, the paragraph which begins at the bottom of the left hand column on page 295 should have been placed immediately below the first paragraph at the top of the right hand column on page 296. To the authors we express our sincere apologies.

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