Birth order and left-handedness revisited: some recent findings in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and their implications for developmental and evolutionary models of human handedness

Hopkins, William D.; Dahl, Jeremy F.; Pilcher, Dawn L.

doi:10.1016/s0028-3932(00)00068-3

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Our results further indicate that captive chimpanzees are less right-handed than humans, with an approximate 2:1 ratio of right- to left-handed individuals, compared with much higher ratios in human populations (8:1). The origin of this difference is unclear, with some researchers suggesting genetic explanations (Corballis, 1997; Warren, 1980), and others offering nongenetic explanations, including issues of measurement and social or cultural differences (Hopkins, 1999; Hopkins, Dahl, & Pilcher, 2000). Heritability of hand preferences has been reported in chimpanzees (Hopkins, Dahl, & Pilcher, 2001; Matsuzawa et al, 2001), and the degree of heritability is comparable to values reported in humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Are Predominantly Right-Handed: Replication in Three Populations of Apes.

Hopkins¹,

Wesley²,

Izard³

et al. 2004

Behavioral Neuroscience

123

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Population-level right-handedness has historically been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Even though recent studies in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have demonstrated population-level right-handedness for certain behaviors, some have questioned the validity and consistency of these findings by arguing that reported laterality effects are specific to certain colonies of apes and to those chimpanzees reared by humans. The authors report evidence of population-level right-handedness in 3 separate colonies of chimpanzees. Moreover, handedness in the 3 colonies was unrelated to the proportion of subjects that were raised by humans. This is the strongest evidence to date that population-level handedness is evident in chimpanzees and is not an artifact of human rearing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Are Predominantly Right-Handed: Replication in Three Populations of Apes.

Hopkins¹,

Wesley²,

Izard³

et al. 2004

Behavioral Neuroscience

123

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A more viable explanation is that discordant MZ twins are affected by differential environmental factors such as differential perinatal stress that is associated with higher incidences of left-handedness (Soper & Satz 1984; see references in Sicotte et al (1999) and Hopkins et al (2000) for chimpanzees). For example, primiparae might be more exposed to birth stress (Orlebeke et al 1996); twins might influence each other and twin members lay in differential position in the womb (Geschwind & Galaburda 1985), which could affect lateralization in twins.…”

Section: Explanatory Power Of Genetic Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epigenesis of behavioural lateralization in humans and other animals

Schaafsma

Riedstra

Pfannkuche

et al. 2008

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

107

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Despite several decades of research, the epigenesis of behavioural and brain lateralization is still elusive, although its knowledge is important in understanding developmental plasticity, function and evolution of lateralization, and its relationship with developmental disorders. Over the last decades, it has become clear that behavioural lateralization is not restricted to humans, but a fundamental principle in the organization of behaviour in vertebrates. This has opened the possibility of extending descriptive studies on human lateralization with descriptive and experimental studies on other vertebrate species. In this review, we therefore explore the evidence for the role of genes and environment on behavioural lateralization in humans and other animals. First, we discuss the predominant genetic models for human handedness, and conclude that their explanatory power alone is not sufficient, leaving, together with ambiguous results from adoption studies and selection experiments in animals, ample opportunity for a role of environmental factors. Next, we discuss the potential influence of such factors, including perinatal asymmetrical perception induced by asymmetrical head position or parental care, and social modulation, both in humans and other vertebrates, presenting some evidence from our own work on the domestic chick. We conclude that both perinatal asymmetrical perception and later social modulation are likely candidates in influencing the degree or strength of lateralization in both humans and other vertebrates. However, in most cases unequivocal evidence for this is lacking and we will point out further avenues for research.

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“…Hopkins also attempts to demonstrate a genetic expression of handedness in chimpanzees, but discovers that there is not a significant relationship between handedness in the offspring and maternal or paternal handedness. A study of handedness and birth order indicated that in middle-born offspring there is significant heritability of handedness (Hopkins and Dahl, 2000: Hopkins, Dahl and Pilcher, 2000). The significance of these findings for cognitive evolution is yet unknown, but under close scientific scrutiny.…”

Section: Antecedents To Evolutionary Cognitive Neurosciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Where Evolutionary Psychology Meets Cognitive Neuroscience: A Précis to Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience

et al. 2007

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Cognitive neuroscience, the study of brain-behavior relationships, has long attempted to map the brain. The discipline is flourishing, with an increasing number of functional neuroimaging studies appearing in the scientific literature daily. Unlike biology and even psychology, the cognitive neurosciences have only recently begun to apply evolutionary meta-theory and methodological guidance.Approaching cognitive neuroscience from an evolutionary perspective allows scientists to apply biologically based theoretical guidance to their investigations and can be conducted in both humans and nonhuman animals. In fact, several investigations of this sort are underway in laboratories around the world. This paper and two new volumes (Platek, Keenan, and Shackelford [Eds.], 2007; Platek and Shackelford [Eds.], under contract) represent the first formal attempts to document the burgeoning field of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience. Here, we briefly review the current state of the science of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience, the methods available to the evolutionary cognitive neuroscientist, and what we foresee as the future directions of the discipline.

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Birth order and left-handedness revisited: some recent findings in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and their implications for developmental and evolutionary models of human handedness

Cited by 10 publications

References 51 publications

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Are Predominantly Right-Handed: Replication in Three Populations of Apes.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Are Predominantly Right-Handed: Replication in Three Populations of Apes.

Epigenesis of behavioural lateralization in humans and other animals

Where Evolutionary Psychology Meets Cognitive Neuroscience: A Précis to Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience

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