Handedness as a function of sex and age in a large population of Lemur..

Ward, Jeannette P.; Milliken, Garrett W.; Dodson, Deanna L.; Stafford, Donna K.; Wallace, Michelle

doi:10.1037/0735-7036.104.2.167

Cited by 134 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Likewise, there is no significant hand preference at the population level even when a less stringent a 5 0.01 is used. Our results are in line with other NWM species (see Papademetriou et al [2005] for review) and are also consistent with other suborders which show no population bias toward lateralization of manual function (Prosimians [Cantalupo & Ward, 2000;Dodson et al, 1992;Sanford et al, 1984;Ward & Cantalupo, 1997;Ward et al, 1990]; OWM [Aruguete et al, 1992;Beck & Barton, 1972;Harigel, 1991;Rigamonti et al, 1998;Teichroeb, 1999;Westergaard et al, 2001]; and Apes [Byrne & Byrne, 1993;Colell et al, 1995;Hopkins et al, 1994;Rogers & Kaplan, 1996]). Our results are consistent with the notion that although some species show population level hand bias for specific activities, it is a uniquely human feature to show population level hand preference across a range of different behaviors.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Observations of hand preference in wild groups of white‐faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) in Suriname

Smith

Thompson

2011

American J Primatol

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Hand preference is well observed in humans and some primates. Unlike many other primates, however, humans show a consistent hand preference across a variety of tasks, and a distinct right-handed skew at the population level. Although there are a moderate number of published studies, primate hand preference literature is unbalanced by the large number of studies on only a few species. No previous studies have addressed hand preference in white-faced sakis (WFS; Pithecia pithecia). We followed three habituated groups of wild WFS in Suriname and recorded individual hand preference for six different manual behaviors. There was no consistent hand preference across a range of uni-manual behaviors for any individual. Likewise, there were significantly more ambidextrous individuals in the population than expected (χ(2) (df = 2) = 11.2, P = 0.004) and thus, no population level hand preference. Our findings contribute baseline data to the debate of primate hand lateralization, and support the notion that lateralization of hand function does not characterize all species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Observations of hand preference in wild groups of white‐faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) in Suriname

Smith

Thompson

2011

American J Primatol

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“…Previous studies have suggested a trend of right hand use increasing with age Mason et al, 1995;Ward et al, 1990]. In this study, age was not correlated with direction of hand preference as calculated by HI scores or strength of hand preference as calculated by ABS-HI scores.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 68%

Laterality in semi‐free‐ranging black and white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata): head‐tilt correlates with hand use during feeding

Nelson

O'Karma

Ruperti³

et al. 2009

American J Primatol

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Previous studies in human and chimpanzee infants have identified a predictive relationship between early rightward head orientation and later right hand use. Data from lemurs suggest a leftward bias in hand preference, but there are no data on head positioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between head and hand preferences in the black and white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata variegata). Ruffed lemurs rotate the head vertically during chewing in a behavior called head-tilting. Frequency of head-tilting and bouts of unimanual hand use were measured during normal feeding in a semi-free-ranging population of lemurs. Subjects were provisioned at feeding platforms twice daily with fresh fruits, vegetables, and other food items. Sampling was spontaneous and all observations were videotaped. No group-level bias was found for head-tilting, but a left hand bias emerged for hand use. A positive relationship was found between direction of head-tilting preference and direction of hand use preference such that left head-tilts increased as left hand use increased. Furthermore, left head-tilts increased as the degree of hand preference lateralization increased. When the hand used to bring food to the mouth just before head-tilting was examined, there was a strong bias for the left hand to precede left head-tilts. For right head-tilts, however, lemurs were equally likely to use either hand before head-tilting. Overall a strong relationship was found between the left hand and left head-tilting in black and white ruffed lemurs, suggesting a common link between these behaviors. However, the direction of bias was different from that seen in human and chimpanzee studies. Additional studies on patterns of laterality would be informative for understanding how laterality has changed across the primate order and the adaptive significance of laterality in primates.

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“…Specifically, our data indicate that female chimpanzees demonstrate greater right-hand bias in hand-to-mouth. In prosimians, a greater prevalence of right-handedness has been reported for simple reaching (Milliken, Stafford, Dodson, Pinger, & Ward, 1991;Ward et al, 1990). No sex differences have been reported for simple reaching in monkey species (Fagot & Vauclair, 1991) but greater self-mouthing has been reported for 1-day-old rhesus monkeys (Champoux & Suomi, 1988).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Hemispheric specialization in infant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence for a relation with gender and arousal

Hopkins

Bard

1993

Developmental Psychobiology

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The current study extends previous documentation of behavioral asymmetries in hand-to-mouth, self-consoling behaviors of infant chimpanzees. The underlying source of lateralized hand-to-mouth, self-calming behavior was investigated by comparing individual differences in neonatal arousal levels, regulatory ability, and motor performance with individual differences in the degree of laterality at 3 months. Asymmetrical hand-to-mouth, self-calming behaviors at 3 months of age were significantly related to general arousal at 2 days of age (i.e., the Range of State cluster scores measured by the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale). Simply stated, chimpanzees with a right-hand bias in hand-to-mouth behavior exhibited lower arousal at 2 days of age compared with nonright-handed individuals. The only item of the Range of State cluster to distinguish subjects was irritability: Right-handed subjects were less irritable. Previously, a trend was reported with respect to sex differences in the laterality of hand-to-mouth behavior. With the greater number of subjects in the present study, we found that females exhibited a significantly greater right-hand bias for hand-to-mouth behaviors (12 of 13) than did males (9 of 15). We conclude that neonatal arousability, and not regulatory capacity or motor performance, predicts the degree of laterality found in hand-to-mouth, self-calming behaviors in 3-month-old chimpanzees. These data are discussed from the standpoint of early pari-parturitional or intrauterine factors affecting lateralized development.

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Handedness as a function of sex and age in a large population of Lemur..

Cited by 134 publications

References 13 publications

Observations of hand preference in wild groups of white‐faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) in Suriname

Observations of hand preference in wild groups of white‐faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) in Suriname

Laterality in semi‐free‐ranging black and white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata): head‐tilt correlates with hand use during feeding

Hemispheric specialization in infant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence for a relation with gender and arousal

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