What happens if you are left handed

Research seems to support both sides of the argument. A study in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society revealed that strong right-handers seemed to perform slightly better on cognitive tests when compared to left-handers.

They found no difference in IQ levels among left- and right-handed people, but left-handers appeared to be more likely to have an intellectual disability. However, this study indicated that people who were intellectually gifted or following typical development were also just as likely to be left-handed. A study in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews looked at 18 studies measuring the full IQ scores of more than 20, participants.

Although data suggested that right-handed people had slightly higher IQ scores compared to left-handers, the scientists noted that intelligence differences between right and left-handed people were negligible overall. A study in the Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology found that, out of subjects, left-handed participants were significantly more likely to perform better on an intelligence test than right-handed people.

Right-handers also took more time to complete the test. Another study in the journal Brain in revealed that there are genetic differences between left-handers and right-handers.

Examining data on about , people, scientists discovered that the left and right hemispheres of the brain were better connected and more coordinated in regions involving language in left-handed people.

Handedness , or hand preference, is the tendency to be more comfortable and skilled when using one hand over the other to perform tasks. While right-handedness and left-handedness are well-known, there are also some less common variations, including:.

Researchers believe hand preference may have to do with the developmental differences between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. The right hemisphere controls movement on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls movement on the right side of the body.

Recent studies have also suggested that multiple genes, maybe even close to 40, are related to hand preference. Children of left-handed parents are more likely to be left-handed than children of right-handed parents. There are many effective things you can do to improve your health. Here are 28 health and nutrition tips that are actually based on good science. Research shows that being happier doesn't just make you feel better — it makes you healthier, too.

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Find out everything you need to know and more. Denatured alcohol is ethyl alcohol with substances added to make it unfit for human consumption. Of course, children learn from their caregivers, so one may expect that if one of the parents is left-handed, the child might become left-handed just by imitation. One reason why this cannot be the full story is that hand preference can already be observed before birth. This observation of fetal handedness is at odds with the finding that some children seem to switch their hand preference, at least up to the age of 2 [ 3 , 4 ].

Perhaps some people are left- or right-handed at birth, whereas others develop their preference later on, during the first years of life.

Are you confused about what makes a person left-handed or not? So are we! Whatever the exact causes may be, this is not a simple story, but a very complex interplay of genes, environment, and chance. Let us leave this topic for now, and have a look at the left-handed brain. Sometimes, people are amazed to hear that the brains of left-handers are different from those of right-handers. But it is clear that they should differ in some respects: left-handers use their hands and feet differently than right-handers do, and they do this often over the course of a lifetime.

It is only natural that the parts of the brain that control movements should be different in left-handers and right-handers Figure 1. Compare this to skilled musicians: they practice fine movements a lot, and this influences their brains 1. To study exactly how the brains of left- and right-handers differ, we need to look at brain lateralization. Brain lateralization refers to the fact that the left and right sides of the brain are not the same.

The two sides differ in their anatomy, and also in what they do. By the way, lateralization is also found in the rest of the body: the two arms look slightly different, and are capable of doing different things; the heart is lateralized to one side of the body cavity, etc.

Left-handers are distinct from right-handers in that they tend to have less lateralization in the brain. A well-known example of this is language, which is mainly a function of the left side of the brain in right-handers 2.

I took off scribbling. That makes left-handers more flexible in the office and fast to react. One way to look at the contrast between lefties and righties, according to psychologist Yvonne Thomas, PhD, is how they approach problem solving.

While those on the right might apply logical solutions to an issue, she explains that lefties have the innate ability to come up with several options, as opposed to just one black-and-white route. Reznick has experienced this personally, explaining she often sees or feels the general idea of the task at hand, rather than needing to break down an issue into specific, tangible parts.

This is juxtaposed with her right-handed sister who will make logical points that form the basis for her opinions, decisions, and behavior.