What is the Function of the Brain of a Left-Handed Person?
Being left-handed is a genetic trait that lefthandersday.com estimates is shared by about 13 of every 100 people. Whether a person is left-handed or right-handed depends on which hemisphere of the brain is more developed. Left-handed people are right brain dominant and right-handed people are left-brain dominant.
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Cross-Wires
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The human brain, according to a University of Indiana study, is a paired organ, meaning it has two parts that function in similar--though different--capacities. The study suggests that a left-handed person's right cerebral hemisphere is more developed than the left and vice versa. Left-handed people are considered right brain dominant--the right brain controls creativity, emotion and processes new information.
Not an Exact Science
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The Indiana University study cautions against making sweeping judgments about a person's brain based on their handedness, suggesting that researchers make theoretical distinctions about handedness based on theoretical assumptions about which hand a person writes with or which hand performs best on manual operations.
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Specialized Functions
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Each hemisphere of the human brain controls different abilities. Some people develop ambidexterity--the ability to perform functions with equal precision using either hand. The left hemisphere of the brain, for instance, controls speech and language production. The University of Indiana study suggests that right-handers, whose left hemisphere is presumed dominant, would have heightened language abilities.
Further Complications
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No characterization of brain function based on a person's dominant hand can, according to the University of Hawaii, be considered definitive. With respect to language, the University of Hawaii estimates 80 percent of left-hand dominants have abilities and brain functions similar to those of people who are right-hand dominant.
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References
- Photo Credit left hand image by Kostyantyn Ivanyshen from Fotolia.com
