The reason why most people have a dominant hand remains unclear, as medical and research communities have yet to agree on an answer. One theory assumes that the brain assigns dominance to one hand to promote efficiency, while others believe it is a matter of perspective or genetics. However, researchers agree that brain signals leading to hand dominance are related to learning and information processing. Understanding this can help uncover the reasons behind learning disabilities and other issues. Hand dominance can have profound implications for learning and dexterity, with scientists believing it is linked to problems like dyslexia and stuttering.
There is usually no consensus in the medical or research community when it comes to understanding why most people have a dominant hand. One of the more popular theories assumes that the brain engages in something akin to a division of labor, assigning dominance to one hand over the other to promote efficiency; this is usually consistent with the idea that each of the brain’s hemispheres controls a different type of data and information processing. Another theory posits that dominance is actually a matter of perspective and that the better hand for fine motor skills may actually depend on the coarse, “helping” qualities of the other to function fully. Some researchers are also exploring whether dominance is simply a matter of genetics. What most scholars agree on, however, is that the brain signals that lead to dominance, regardless of why they occur, appear to be related to learning and information processing in general. Understanding the domain can help uncover things like why people have learning disabilities.
Understanding of manual dexterity in general
When people talk about hand dominance, they are usually referring to what is more casually known as a “hand” or the idea that most people have a hand that is used to do things like write or grip objects in a more instinctive than the other. Most humans are “right handed,” meaning their right hand is dominant and the one they use for most day-to-day activities.
The second most common is left-handedness, which is thought to be 10% of the population. Then come the alternatives. Mixed handedness is when some individuals will use their right hand for one activity, such as writing, but their left hand for another, such as holding scissors or hitting a tennis ball. Finally, there is ambidexterity, which is usually recognized as very rare. Being truly ambidextrous means both hands are used equally for all activities. The flip side of ambidexterity is dexterous or ambisinister qualities, which cause a person to be equally poor when using both hands.
Work division
The most commonly accepted theory that explains domination is the division of labor. This refers to the hemispheres of the brain and how information is processed and divided between the hemispheres and the fine motor skills of the hands, eyes, feet and ears. It is generally known that speaking and communication tasks in right-handed people are performed in the left hemisphere of the brain. The main argument against this theory is that what is true for right-handed people should be the opposite for left-handed people. In other words, left-handed people should process language in the right hemisphere of the brain. This is usually not the case, which makes this theory flawed, at least from a technical point of view.
Bilateral coordination theory
Another suggestion is that dominance occurs as a result of both hands working together. This is called bilateral coordination. According to this theory, the dominant hand is a “working hand” that performs most of the motor skills needed to get through a day. The non-dominant hand is thought of as the “helping hand” and performs motor skills such as stabilizing objects.
Genetic predisposition
In 2007, scientists searching for a gene for left-handedness found a marker later called LRRTM1. This gene lends some credence to the thought that handedness could be genetic. The genetic predisposition theory is also tested for validity because the gene also carries other traits. Even sill, the connection is not obvious. Only about 1 in 4 children born to two left-handed parents are also left-handed. The gene may be recessive, as is the case with the gene that causes light eyes, but not enough is known at this point to say for sure.
Wider branches
Dominance when it comes to the use of the hands may not seem like such a big deal when performing ordinary tasks like writing a grocery check, but the implications can be quite profound. Scientists increasingly believe that there is a relationship between learning and dexterity. Finding answers to dominant hands could unlock seemingly unrelated problems like dyslexia and stuttering.
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