Study finds surprising new link between lefties, autism and schizophrenia
Need a hand?
An estimated 10% of people in the world are left-handed — and suffer from a societal bias than spans back centuries.
Now, a new study published in the journal Psychological Bulletin has more bad news for people who prefer humanity's less popular hand.
New research shows lefties are more likely to have psychotic disorders.
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The comprehensive meta-analysis found that individuals with early-onset disorders characterized by language impairments — such as autism, schizophrenia and dyslexia — are significantly more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous compared to the general population.
Previous studies have shown that people who are left-handed or ambidextrous are disproportionally likely to have these disorders, but the reasons behind this phenomenon have been unclear — until now.
'We suspected that left- and mixed- handedness could be associated with disorders whose symptoms are related to language,' lead author Dr. Julian Packheiser. a researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, said in a press release.
The study emphasizes that this association is particularly strong in disorders that manifest early in life and involve language difficulties.
In contrast, conditions that develop later in life, such as depression, do not exhibit this link.
'Language, like handedness, has a very one-sided location in the brain, so it stands to reason that the development of both and their disorders could be linked,' Packheiser said.
The study emphasizes that this association is particularly strong in disorders that manifest early in life and involve language difficulties.
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For much of history, being left-handed was viewed not just as unusual but as outright devilish. In fact, in Latin, the word 'sinister' means left.
Throughout medieval Europe, left-handed people were often associated with witchcraft, devil worship, or moral deviance.
This bias persisted well into the 20th century, with many children forcibly trained to use their right hands in school, sometimes through physical punishment.
In certain parts of the world — such as India and other parts of Asia — it is considered 'rude' to eat with your left hand, as it is reserved for 'unclean' tasks, further reinforcing a sense of 'wrongness.'
Modern neuroscience has added more nuance to the picture.
While some studies do suggest that lefties are more likely to have psychotic disorders, other research has linked left-handedness to enhanced creativity and spatial reasoning.
Being left-handed is also a known advantage is many sports, such as baseball, tennis and boxing.
Some reportedly famous lefties include Barack Obama, John McCain, Benjamin Franklin, Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DaVinci, Justin Bieber and the Boston Strangler.
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