Intelligence and handedness: Meta-analyses of studies on intellectually disabled, typically developing, and gifted individuals

Παπαδάτου-Παστού, Μαριέττα; Tomprou, Dimitra-Maria

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.06.017

Cited by 58 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 140 publications

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“…Data analysis was performed using the software package Comprehensive Meta-analysis (v.2;Borenstein, Hedges, Higgins, & Rothstein, 2005). Two separate meta-analysis sets were conducted following the steps listed below (following Markou et al, 2017;Papadatou-Pastou & Safar, 2016;Papadatou-Pastou & Tomprou, 2015):…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a growing body of literature on the existence of elevated levels of atypical handedness in conditions such as dyslexia (e.g., Vlachos, Andreou, Delliou, & Agapitou, 2013), schizophrenia (e.g., Tran & Voracek, 2015), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (e.g., Markou, Ahtam, Papadatou-Pastou, 2017), deafness (e.g., Papadatou-Pastou & Sáfár, 2016), and intellectual disability (e.g., Papadatou-Pastou & Tomprou, 2015). Moreover, a link with left-(or mixed-) handedness has been investigated with mixed findings within a multitude of positive traits, such as mathematical and verbal talent (e.g., Bower, 1985), ability sports such as baseball (e.g., Klemish et al, 2017) and fencing (e.g., Voracek, Reimer, Ertl, & Dressler, 2006), as well as talent in art (e.g., Singg & Martin, 2016) and music (e.g., Kopiez, Galley, & Lee, 2006).…”

Section: Handedness and Cerebral Lateralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hand preference and Mathematical Learning Difficulties: New data from Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany and two meta-analyses of the literature

Παπαδάτου-Παστού¹,

Panagiotidou²,

Abbondanza³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Objective: Increased rates of atypical handedness are observed in groups of neurotypical individuals who are low-performing in mathematical tasks as well as in individuals with special educational needs, such as dyslexia and autism. This is the first series of studies and meta-analyses to investigate whether elevated levels of atypical handedness are also to be found in individuals with Mathematical Learning Difficulties (MLD). Method: We report three new studies (N = 134; N = 1,899; N = 149) and two sets of meta-analyses (22 studies; N = 3,649) on the handedness rates of MLD and Typically Achieving (TA) individuals.Results: No evidence of a difference in atypical handedness was found when the direction of hand preference was used as the handedness measure, with the exception of weak evidence when writing hand was used as the handedness criterion. When combining data meta-analytically no hand preference differences between the MLD and TA were detected.Conclusions: There is very limited evidence for elevated levels of atypical hand preference in MLD. We suggest that: (i) potential handedness effects are subtle and require larger samples, (ii) direction of hand preference is not a sensitive enough measure of handedness, or that (iii) increased rates of atypical hand preference are related specifically to conditions that present with language difficulties, as handedness is a behavioral index for language lateralization, and not to conditions requiring special educational needs at large. Future studies need to investigate the possible relationship of hand skill and of degree of hand preference with MLD.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Handedness and Cerebral Lateralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hand preference and Mathematical Learning Difficulties: New data from Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany and two meta-analyses of the literature

Παπαδάτου-Παστού¹,

Panagiotidou²,

Abbondanza³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Many previous studies have found neurological deficits to relate to VLBW, preterm birth, and multiples (21,(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39). A metaanalysis indicated that non-right-handedness is more common in those with intellectual disabilities compared with those with no intellectual disability (40). Similarly, another metaanalysis showed that low birthweight is a risk factor of intellectual disability (41).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triplets, birthweight, and handedness

Heikkilä

Beijsterveldt

Haukka

et al. 2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The mechanisms behind handedness formation in humans are still poorly understood. Very low birthweight is associated with higher odds of left-handedness, but whether this is due to low birthweight itself or premature birth is unknown. Handedness has also been linked to development, but the role of birthweight behind this association is unclear. Knowing that birthweight is lower in multiple births, triplets being about 1.5 kg lighter in comparison with singletons, and that multiples have a higher prevalence of left-handedness than singletons, we studied the association between birthweight and handedness in two large samples consisting exclusively of triplets from Japan ( = 1,305) and the Netherlands ( = 947). In both samples, left-handers had significantly lower birthweight (Japanese mean = 1,599 g [95% confidence interval (CI): 1,526-1,672 g]; Dutch mean = 1,794 g [95% CI: 1,709-1,879 g]) compared with right-handers (Japanese mean = 1,727 g [95% CI: 1,699-1,755 g]; Dutch mean = 1,903 g [95% CI: 1,867-1,938 g]). Within-family and between-family analyses both suggested that left-handedness is associated with lower birthweight, also when fully controlling for gestational age. Left-handers also had significantly delayed motor development and smaller infant head circumference compared with right-handers, but these associations diluted and became nonsignificant when controlling for birthweight. Our study in triplets provides evidence for the link between low birthweight and left-handedness. Our results also suggest that developmental differences between left- and right-handers are due to a shared etiology associated with low birthweight.

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“…In line with this hypothesis, Johnston et al (2009) found that left-handed children slightly underperformed in a series of developmental measures, compared to right-handers. Also, two recent meta-analyses (Papadatou-Pastou and Tomprou, 2015; Somers et al, 2015) reported that left-handers were over-represented among intellectually challenged individuals and did slightly worse in spatial ability tasks, respectively. Consistent with these results, Johnston et al (2013) found that left-handers underperformed in mathematical ability in a sample of children aged 5–14.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Handedness and Mathematics Is Non-linear and Is Moderated by Gender, Age, and Type of Task

et al. 2017

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The relationship between handedness and mathematical ability is still highly controversial. While some researchers have claimed that left-handers are gifted in mathematics and strong right-handers perform the worst in mathematical tasks, others have more recently proposed that mixed-handers are the most disadvantaged group. However, the studies in the field differ with regard to the ages and the gender of the participants, and the type of mathematical ability assessed. To disentangle these discrepancies, we conducted five studies in several Italian schools (total participants: N = 2,314), involving students of different ages (six to seventeen) and a range of mathematical tasks (e.g., arithmetic and reasoning). The results show that (a) linear and quadratic functions are insufficient for capturing the link between handedness and mathematical ability; (b) the percentage of variance in mathematics scores explained by handedness was larger than in previous studies (between 3 and 10% vs. 1%), and (c) the effect of handedness on mathematical ability depended on age, type of mathematical tasks, and gender. In accordance with previous research, handedness does represent a correlate of achievement in mathematics, but the shape of this relationship is more complicated than has been argued so far.

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Intelligence and handedness: Meta-analyses of studies on intellectually disabled, typically developing, and gifted individuals

Cited by 58 publications

References 140 publications

Hand preference and Mathematical Learning Difficulties: New data from Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany and two meta-analyses of the literature

Hand preference and Mathematical Learning Difficulties: New data from Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany and two meta-analyses of the literature

Triplets, birthweight, and handedness

The Relationship between Handedness and Mathematics Is Non-linear and Is Moderated by Gender, Age, and Type of Task

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