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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Until the 1990s, the notion of brain lateralization—the division of labor between the two hemispheres—and its more visible behavioral manifestation, handedness, remained fiercely defined as a human specific trait. Since then, many studies have evidenced lateralized functions in a wide range of species, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In this review, we highlight the great contribution of comparative research to the understanding of human handedness’ evolutionary and developmental pathways, by distinguishing animal forelimb asymmetries for functionally different actions—i.e., potentially depending on different hemispheric specializations. Firstly, lateralization for the manipulation of inanimate objects has been associated with genetic and ontogenetic factors, with specific brain regions’ activity, and with morphological limb specializations. These could have emerged under selective pressures notably related to the animal locomotion and social styles. Secondly, lateralization for actions directed to living targets (to self or conspecifics) seems to be in relationship with the brain lateralization for emotion processing. Thirdly, findings on primates’ hand preferences for communicative gestures accounts for a link between gestural laterality and a left-hemispheric specialization for intentional communication and language. Throughout this review, we highlight the value of functional neuroimaging and developmental approaches to shed light on the mechanisms underlying human handedness.

Details

Title
Limb Preference in Animals: New Insights into the Evolution of Manual Laterality in Hominids
Author
Boulinguez-Ambroise, Grégoire 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Aychet, Juliette 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pouydebat, Emmanuelle 3 

 Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), Rootstown, OH 44272, USA 
 Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement (UR LECD), Université Paris Nanterre, 92000 Nanterre, France 
 Département Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179 C.N.R.S/M.N.H.N., 57 Rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris, France; [email protected] 
First page
96
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20738994
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2621382134
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.