A report of behavioral lateralization in an infant orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus)

Cunningham, Deborah K.; Forsythe, Chris; Ward, Jeannette P.

doi:10.1007/bf02381310

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…Such a tendency is consistent with the right upper limb preference reported for the initiation of quadruped walking in the four species of great apes [Cunningham et al, 1989;Heestand, 1986;Hopkins & de Waal, 1995] and in humans [Day & MacNeilage, 1996;Seltzer et al, 1990]. As some of the above-cited authors suggested, this could be a common trait in the great apes and humans that would suggest a left hemisphere specialization in the control of locomotion.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Walking, ascending, descending, and brachiating were the behavioral categories considered for locomotion, and sitting, lying, hanging, and changing postures were the ones associated with postural control. Whereas right-hand preferences in great apes and humans were previously reported for quadrupedal locomotion on a horizontal surface [Cunningham et al, 1989;Day & MacNeilage, 1996;Forsythe & Ward, 1987;Heestand, 1986;Hopkins & de Waal, 1995;Seltzer et al, 1990], one would expect preferences to emerge in more individuals in the case of climbing or walking on an incline (ascending and descending), as in other restrictive behaviors, since they involve starting from a more unstable position, which requires more balance and support control. Because going over an obstacle, descending to a lower level, and simply walking horizontally may require very different forms of muscular coordination, as they do in humans [Carpenter et al, 1998], the direction of the asymmetry in ascending and descending would not necessarily be the same as in walking.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Studies in captivity with lemurs (Varecia variegate) [Forsythe & Ward, 1987], orangutans (Pongo pigmaeus) [Cunningham et al, 1989;Heestand, 1986], gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) [Heestand, 1986], chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) [Heestand, 1986], and bonobos (Pan paniscus) [Hopkins & de Waal, 1995], as well as human studies [Day & MacNeilage, 1996;Seltzer et al, 1990], have provided evidence of group-level right preferences in the upper limb when initiating quadruped locomotion in all these species (except lemurs [Forsythe & Ward, 1987]). However, two studies in wild chimpanzees [Marchant & McGrew, 1996;McGrew & Marchant, 2001] did not report asymmetries in the leading limb.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Asymmetries in postural control and locomotion in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Morcillo¹,

Fernández-Carriba²,

Loeches³

2006

Am. J. Primatol.

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Posture and locomotion are two of the most primitive and basic motor manifestations of an organism's behavior. Although the restrictions they impose on other motor functions are evident, few studies have considered the possibility of asymmetries in these behaviors in human and nonhuman primates, and how they might impact other asymmetries at higher functional levels. The aim of the current study was to explore in a group of 10 chimpanzees at the Madrid Zoo-Aquarium the degree of asymmetry in four behaviors related to locomotion (walking, ascending, descending, and brachiating) and four behaviors associated with posture (sitting, lying, hanging, and changing postures). Few subjects showed individual preferences, but significant trends in the group for some of the behaviors were found, including right-hand use when initiating quadruped walking, and left-hand use when descending and hanging. Some significant correlations also emerged: a negative one between walking and descending, and a positive one between walking and brachiating and between sitting and changing postures. No correlations were found between locomotor and postural modes. Although we cannot make generalizations on the population level at this time, these findings highlight the importance of considering postural and locomotion factors when studying motor asymmetries in primates.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

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confidence: 91%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Asymmetries in postural control and locomotion in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Morcillo¹,

Fernández-Carriba²,

Loeches³

2006

Am. J. Primatol.

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“…The results in nearly every study reveal equal numbers of subjects that were left-handed, right-handed, and without a preference (Christel, 1994;Hopkins, 1993;Hopkins, 1995b;Marchant, 1983;Steiner, 1990;Tonooka & Matsuzawa, 1995). This same finding has been reported in other great-ape species, including gorillas (Annett & Annett, 1991;Olson, Ellis, & Nadler, 1990), orangutans (Cunningham, Forsythe, & Ward, 1989;Hopkins, 1993), and bonobos (Hopkins, Bennett, Bales, Lee, & Ward, 1993;Hopkins & de Waal, 1995).…”

supporting

confidence: 67%

Chimpanzee handedness revisited: 55 years since Finch (1941)

Hopkins

1996

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

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Chimpanzees and other great apes have long held the fascination of psychologists because of their morphological and behavioral similarities to humans. This paper describes the historical interest in studies on chimpanzee handedness and reviews current findings. Data are presented which suggest that transient changes in posture result in the transient expression of right-handedness in chimpanzees. The role of tool use as an evolutionalY mechanism underlying the expression of right-handedness is challenged. Rather, emphasis is placed on the role of bimanual feeding as a behavioral adaptation for the expression of handedness. Suggestions for further research on the nature of nonhuman primate handedness are made in light of these findings.Approximately 85% to 90% ofhumans are right-handed (Annett, 1985). Moreover, 98% of right-handed individuals are left-hemisphere dominant for linguistic functions (Rasmussen & Milner, 1977). Thus, right-handedness and left-hemisphere specializations for linguistic functions are correlated functions. The concept of hemispheric specialization dates back to the early studies of Dax, Wernicke, and Broca, and one topic of interest that emerged from these early studies was whether or not animals possessed similar specializations of the left and right cerebral hemispheres (see Harris, 1993, for review). Ofparticular interest was whether nonhuman primates exhibited handedness, and chimpanzees and other great apes were often discussed as interesting subjects because of their physical and morphological similarity to humans. However, most reports ofhandedness in chimpanzees and other great apes were anecdotal (Yerkes, 1927).In 1941, Glenn Finch ofthe Yerkes Primate Center, then located in Orange Park, Florida, reported in Science the first systematic study on handedness in 30 chimpanzees. The study included 26 adults and 4 adolescents and utilized four measures ofhand preference, including (I) pulling in a string with attached food, (2) picking up 10 pieces offood spaced at 3-in. intervals, (3) picking up food when displacing a metal object covering it, and (4) selecting in-

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“…For example, humans, particularly women, show universal left-sided biases in cradling infants (Damerose and Vauclair, 2002). Researchers have reported a similar left-sided maternal cradling bias in great apes, notably in chimpanzees and gorillas, but not in other primates (Cunningham et al, 1989;Damerose and Vauclair, 2002;Dienske et al, 1995;Fischer et al, 1982;Hopkins, 2004;Lockard, 1984;Manning and Chamberlain, 1990;Manning et al, 1994;Rogers and Kaplan, 1995; Toback, 1999). Evidence of asymmetries in other early mother-infant behaviors of primates, such as nipple preferences, is less clear.…”

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confidence: 99%

Left Nipple Preferences in Infant Pan paniscus and P. troglodytes

Hopkins

Lathouwers

2006

Int J Primatol

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We investigated laterality in nipple preference in 16 mother-infant dyads, 8 bonobos, and 8 chimpanzees via an event sampling procedure in infants 5-55 mo of age. Both bonobo and chimpanzee infants preferred the left nipple, and the results were stable over time. Maternal age, experience, and rearing history did not influence laterality in offspring nipple preferences. We discuss the results in the context of the role of early mother-infant interactions on the development of laterality in primates. Keywordslaterality; mother-infant behavior; cradling; nipple preference Damerose and Vauclair (2002) and Hopkins (2004) recently suggested that early asymmetries in mother-infant behaviors may be the basis for the development of handedness. In particular, Hopkins (2004) argued that infant primates are not born into symmetrical environments but instead are exposed to imposed asymmetries by the caretaker, in the form of cradling biases, or the infants show explicit asymmetries in reflexive behaviors such as head orientation or limb strength (Fagot and Bard, 1995;Hopkins and Bard, 1995;Hopkins et al., 1997). Presumably, the early asymmetries result in differential stimulation of the limbs, which leads to preferential use of one or the other during infant development.There is a growing body of evidence for asymmetries in early mother-infant interactions and the results are not restricted to nonhuman primates. For example, humans, particularly women, show universal left-sided biases in cradling infants (Damerose and Vauclair, 2002). Researchers have reported a similar left-sided maternal cradling bias in great apes, notably in chimpanzees and gorillas, but not in other primates (Cunningham et al., 1989;Damerose and Vauclair, 2002;Dienske et al., 1995;Fischer et al., 1982;Hopkins, 2004;Lockard, 1984;Manning and Chamberlain, 1990;Manning et al., 1994;Rogers and Kaplan, 1995; Toback, 1999). Evidence of asymmetries in other early mother-infant behaviors of primates, such as nipple preferences, is less clear. In humans and in 1 study in wild chimpanzees, there is some evidence of left nipple preferences by infants but very few studies (Nishida, 1993;Stables and Hewitt, 1995;Vieira et al., 1996). Old World monkey infants clearly show nipple preferences but the evidence of population-level asymmetries is inconsistent among species and studies (Damerose and Hopkins, 2002;Erwin et al., 1975; 5 To whom correspondence should be addressed; e-mail: Lrcbh@rmy.emory.edu or whopkins@berry.edu. Hinde et al., 1964;Hiraiwa, 1981;Jaffe et al., 2006;Lindburg, 1971;Tanaka, 1989Tanaka, , 1997Tomaszycki et al., 1998). Interestingly, among New World monkeys that twin, such as the common marmoset, infants adopt opposite nipple preferences (Dienske et al., 1995; Kaplan, 1998, cf. Deets andHarlow, 1970;Nakamichi, 1983;Winkler and Prestel, 1989). NIH Public AccessWe assessed laterality in nipple preferences in 2 species of great apes: bonobos and chimpanzees. Some apes show a left-side cradling bias but it is unclear whether the left-sided...

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A report of behavioral lateralization in an infant orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus)

Cited by 34 publications

References 18 publications

Asymmetries in postural control and locomotion in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Asymmetries in postural control and locomotion in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Chimpanzee handedness revisited: 55 years since Finch (1941)

Left Nipple Preferences in Infant Pan paniscus and P. troglodytes

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