INFO NEW
29/01/2020
The historical misfortune of left-handed people
It is not the only historical outrage left-handed people have suffered. People with this particularity have been especially repudiated at different times, under the stigma of being possessed by the devil, or by false stereotypes that labeled them criminals and thugs.
It is not surprising, then, that this persecution of left-handers culminated in certain methods - say - "pedagogical" to correct this supposed deviation. Many left-handed elders in Spain remember with regret how they were pressured and forced to write with their right hand in their school stage, turned right-handed even against their nature.
Scientific studies
Several investigations have tried to explain why some people are left-handed and others right-handed, and their brain, biological and psychological differences.
The right-handed are "more right-handed"
Entering scientific matters, it should be noted that, according to a study conducted at the University of Ontario, “right-handed people are more skilled compared to left-handers, who tend to be ambidextrous; to execute with more skill both hands ”. In other words, the researchers say that people who preferably use the left hand are much more skilled with the right than the right-handed with respect to the left hand.
This could be explained because left-handed people have been forced, from a young age, to handle utensils and tools designed for right-handed people, thereby developing a greater capacity to control their "bad hand."
Lefties live less years, on average
One of the aspects on which science has deepened most is the longevity of left-handed and right-handed people. And, it has been shown, left-handed people tend to live about nine years less on average than right-handed people. But why does this happen? There are several hypotheses that try to explain this difference.
One of the most widespread prays that it is possible that left-handed people are more likely to suffer some minimal alterations during their development, which would make them more likely to suffer certain diseases.
Genetics comes into play
Yes, it seems that there are already data that suggest that the preference for one or the other hand could have a genetic origin. Specifically, this is what a group of researchers from the University of Oxford discovered, when they isolated a genetic variable that is related to the fact of preferring to use the left hand. This variant, named LRRTM1, is also a predictor of schizophrenia. That is, people who have this genetic variable have a higher risk of suffering from this neurological disease.
In any case, the relationship between having this genetic variation and suffering from schizophrenia has only been slightly correlated; It is unknown exactly what role this gene plays in the multitude of characteristics and propensities that the individual will develop during his life. In fact, the degree of correlation between the left-hander and possessing said gene is still being studied.
Cross laterality and brain differences
The differences between left-handed and right-handed brains contribute to deepening the few answers and many unknowns about the laterality of human beings. As we have explained in previous Psychology and Mind articles, our brain consists of two hemispheres, right and left, and although the brain operates globally, each of these hemispheres is specialized in certain functions.
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It is often said, although it is a somewhat unscientific simplification, that the left side of the brain is responsible for processing numerical and logical information, while the right hemisphere is more linked to creativity and the way we feel and get excited. And to all this, what happens with writing? In more than 80% of the population, writing is more linked to activity in the left hemisphere, which in turn governs our right side (yes, even if it sounds counterintuitive). These people, therefore, are right-handed. In the case of left-handed people, things get a bit complicated, since the activity related to writing is more evenly distributed between both hemispheres.
It will be necessary to continue investigating this issue to continue providing interesting facts about the causes of laterality and the differences between left-handed and right-handed people. For now, we are left with more questions than certainties.
Bertrand Regader
Educational psychologist in Barcelona | Director of Psychology and Mind
It is not the only historical outrage left-handed people have suffered. People with this particularity have been especially repudiated at different times, under the stigma of being possessed by the devil, or by false stereotypes that labeled them criminals and thugs.
It is not surprising, then, that this persecution of left-handers culminated in certain methods - say - "pedagogical" to correct this supposed deviation. Many left-handed elders in Spain remember with regret how they were pressured and forced to write with their right hand in their school stage, turned right-handed even against their nature.
Scientific studies
Several investigations have tried to explain why some people are left-handed and others right-handed, and their brain, biological and psychological differences.
The right-handed are "more right-handed"
Entering scientific matters, it should be noted that, according to a study conducted at the University of Ontario, “right-handed people are more skilled compared to left-handers, who tend to be ambidextrous; to execute with more skill both hands ”. In other words, the researchers say that people who preferably use the left hand are much more skilled with the right than the right-handed with respect to the left hand.
This could be explained because left-handed people have been forced, from a young age, to handle utensils and tools designed for right-handed people, thereby developing a greater capacity to control their "bad hand."
Lefties live less years, on average
One of the aspects on which science has deepened most is the longevity of left-handed and right-handed people. And, it has been shown, left-handed people tend to live about nine years less on average than right-handed people. But why does this happen? There are several hypotheses that try to explain this difference.
One of the most widespread prays that it is possible that left-handed people are more likely to suffer some minimal alterations during their development, which would make them more likely to suffer certain diseases.
Genetics comes into play
Yes, it seems that there are already data that suggest that the preference for one or the other hand could have a genetic origin. Specifically, this is what a group of researchers from the University of Oxford discovered, when they isolated a genetic variable that is related to the fact of preferring to use the left hand. This variant, named LRRTM1, is also a predictor of schizophrenia. That is, people who have this genetic variable have a higher risk of suffering from this neurological disease.
In any case, the relationship between having this genetic variation and suffering from schizophrenia has only been slightly correlated; It is unknown exactly what role this gene plays in the multitude of characteristics and propensities that the individual will develop during his life. In fact, the degree of correlation between the left-hander and possessing said gene is still being studied.
Cross laterality and brain differences
The differences between left-handed and right-handed brains contribute to deepening the few answers and many unknowns about the laterality of human beings. As we have explained in previous Psychology and Mind articles, our brain consists of two hemispheres, right and left, and although the brain operates globally, each of these hemispheres is specialized in certain functions.
<= "" p = "" width = "287" height = "640">
It is often said, although it is a somewhat unscientific simplification, that the left side of the brain is responsible for processing numerical and logical information, while the right hemisphere is more linked to creativity and the way we feel and get excited. And to all this, what happens with writing? In more than 80% of the population, writing is more linked to activity in the left hemisphere, which in turn governs our right side (yes, even if it sounds counterintuitive). These people, therefore, are right-handed. In the case of left-handed people, things get a bit complicated, since the activity related to writing is more evenly distributed between both hemispheres.
It will be necessary to continue investigating this issue to continue providing interesting facts about the causes of laterality and the differences between left-handed and right-handed people. For now, we are left with more questions than certainties.
Bertrand Regader
Educational psychologist in Barcelona | Director of Psychology and Mind
