Medical Questions » Brain Questions » Question No. 167
| Question: | Why are so many people in Australia left-handed? Is this due to a malfunction of the brain? |
| Answer: | About one in ten people are left-handed, and there are more left-handed males than females. Traditionally left handers have been described as clumsy, but there is an impressive list of left-handed leaders, artists and sports people including Queen Victoria, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Michelangelo, Paul McCartney, Judy Garland, Picasso, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe.
There is good evidence that left-handedness is more common in persons with reading disabilities, stuttering and poor coordination, but these problems may occur because until recently natural left handers were often made to use their right hand for writing, sports etc.
Hand preference does not appear to be a characteristic of animals, so is exclusive to humans. There are many theories to explain this. Some experts claim it is due to emotional contrariness in childhood, others that it is inherited, still others that it is an acquired learning process. It may well be a combination of these factors.
Some left-handers are quite hopeless using their right hand, while others are much better. There is a suggestion that this might be related to some problem with brainedness (the dominant side of the brain). Reading ability might also be tied up with this, as some left-handers have poor reading ability while others are quite normal. One side of the brain is responsible for both reading ability and speech. This may vary in left-handers leading to some confusion in the brain and clumsiness and stuttering as well as reading difficulties. A lot of research remains to be done in this area.
Parents should never try to change their child from left- to right-handed. |
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