Tuesday, 3 July 2018

evolution - Is there a dominant gene for right-handedness?


Has there been any definitive research about handedness being genetic? Also, why is right-handedness clearly dominant in humans? I'm interested in evolutionary theories, as well as any molecular explanation (if known).



Answer




There is a lot of information at OMIM - too much to summarize here - regarding the genetics of handedness and links to which hemisphere of the brain dominates (in an individual), to schizophrenia (slight association with non-right-handedness), and to hair whorl patterns on the scalp. References are provided at the above link. Basically, hand skill appears to be a complex multifactorial phenotype with a heterogeneous background.


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