Hand preferences for a coordinated bimanual task were assessed in 109 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Hand preference was evaluated for 4 test sessions using bouts and frequencies of hand use to compare the sensitivity of each level of analysis in evaluating individual variation in handedness. Overall, significant population-level right-handedness was found using several different measures of hand use. Handedness indices based on bouts and frequencies were highly and significantly correlated. Moreover, hand preferences were consistent across tests despite efforts to situationally bias preference during each test. Taken together, these data do not support the view that bouts are a better level of analysis for evaluating hand preference. The results further suggest that hand preferences for coordinated bimanual actions are not influenced by situational factors and may reflect an inherent specialization of the left hemisphere for motor skill.The issue of whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness has been a topic of historical and recent debate (Ettlinger, 1988;Fagot & Vauclair, 1991;MacNeilage, StuddertKennedy, & Lindblom, 1987;Marchant & McGrew, 1991;Ward & Hopkins, 1993;Warren, 1980 NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript sample display the same directional bias in hand use. The historical view held that handedness was bimodally distributed in nonhuman species including primates (Warren, 1980), but this view has recently been challenged by a host of behavioral Studies (see Bradshaw & Rogers, 1993;Hook-Costigan & Rogers, 1997;Hopkins, 1996;Hopkins & Morris, 1993;Lehman, 1993;Ward, Milliken, & Stafford, 1993, for reviews). Of specific interest to this article is the evidence of population-level right-handedness in chimpanzees and other great apes. Some have argued that there is a 2:1 ratio of right-to left-handed individuals (Corballis, 1997;Hopkins, 1999b;Hopkins & Pearson, 2000). In contrast, others have argued that the evidence is weak for population-level right-handedness in apes and that some Studies reporting evidence of population-level right-handedness are methodologically or statistically flawed (McGrew & Marchant, 1997).Presently, the debate over whether great apes (and other nonhuman primates) exhibit population-level hand preference centers on two issues, both of which are subject to different interpretation. One issue is whether population-level right-handedness is restricted to captive populations of apes, and this issue is not addressed in this article. The second issue, which is addressed in this article, is whether the use of frequencies contrasted with bouts of lateralized behavior reflects the same or different manifestations of lateral bias at the individual and population level. Specifically, Marchant (1994,1997), as well as others (Boesch, 1991;Byrne & Byrne, 1991), have argued that bouts are a better measure of laterality in hand use than the use of the raw frequencies. The central premise of this argument, outlined by McGrew and ...

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Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a global mental health challenge that has disrupted the lives of millions of people, with a considerable effect on university students. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a brief online Mindfulness and Compassion-based Intervention to promote mental health among first year university students during COVID-19 home confinement. Methods Participants (n=66) were first-year psychology students from a university in Spain with no prior meditation experience. Intervention lasted for 16 days and was designed ad-hoc. Using a pre-post within-subjects design, feasibility was assessed in five domains (acceptability, satisfaction, implementation, practicality, and limited efficacy testing). Participants completed both baseline and post-intervention assessments of perceived stress, anxiety, and self-compassion. Results The intervention showed to be feasible in all domains evaluated. It was implemented as planned with constrained resources, and limited efficacy testing showed promising results. After the intervention, stress and anxiety levels decreased significantly (p<0.001, Hedges's g=0.5146; p<0.001, Hedges's g=0.6068, respectively) whereas self-compassion levels were augmented significantly (p<0.001, Hedges's g=0.6968). Conclusions Our findings suggest that a brief online mindfulness and compassion intervention may be a feasible way of promoting mental health among university students during COVID-19 lockdown. Further studies are required to address the limitations of the present study. We conclude that online interventions may constitute a promising pathway to buffer the mental health burden derived from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a genomic disorder reported to associate with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in 15–50% of cases; however, others suggest that individuals with 22q11.2DS present psychiatric or behavioral features associated with ASDs, but do not meet full criteria for ASD diagnoses. Such wide variability in findings may arise in part due to methodological differences across studies. Our study sought to determine whether individuals with 22q11.2DS meet strict ASD diagnostic criteria using research-based guidelines from the Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism (CPEA), which required a gathering of information from three sources: the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), the Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule (ADOS), and a clinician’s best-estimate diagnosis. Our study examined a cohort of children, adolescents, and young adults (n = 56) with 22q11.2DS, who were ascertained irrespective of parents’ behavioral or developmental concerns, and found that 17.9% (n = 10) of the participants met CPEA criteria for an ASD diagnosis, and that a majority showed some level of social-communication impairment or the presence of repetitive behaviors. We conclude that strictly defined ASDs occur in a substantial proportion of individuals with 22q11.2DS, and recommend that all individuals with 22q11.2DS be screened for ASDs during early childhood.