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Meguerditchian A, Phillips KA, Chapelain A, Mahovetz LM, Milne S, Stoinski T, Bania A, Lonsdorf E, Schaeffer J, Russell J, Hopkins WD. Handedness for Unimanual Grasping in 564 Great Apes: The Effect on Grip Morphology and a Comparison with Hand Use for a Bimanual Coordinated Task. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1794. [PMID: 26635693 PMCID: PMC4655229 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A number of factors have been proposed to influence within and between species variation in handedness in non-human primates. In the initial study, we assessed the influence of grip morphology on hand use for simple reaching in a sample of 564 great apes including 49 orangutans Pongo pygmaeus, 66 gorillas Gorilla gorilla, 354 chimpanzees Pan troglodytes and 95 bonobos Pan paniscus. Overall, we found a significant right hand bias for reaching. We also found a significant effect of the grip morphology of hand use. Grasping with the thumb and index finger was more prevalent in the right compared to left hand in all four species. There was no significant sex effect on the patterns of handedness. In a subsample of apes, we also compared consistency in hand use for simple reaching with previously published data on a task that measures handedness for bimanual actions. We found that the ratio of subjects with consistent right compared to left hand use was more prevalent in bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas but not orangutans. However, for all species, the proportion of subjects with inconsistent hand preferences between the tasks was relatively high suggesting some measures may be more sensitive in assessing handedness than others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrien Meguerditchian
- CNRS, Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, UMR 7290, Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | | | - Amandine Chapelain
- CNRS, Laboratoire d’Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS, UMR 6552, Université de Rennes 1, Paimpont, France
| | | | - Scott Milne
- Department of Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
| | - Tara Stoinski
- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth Lonsdorf
- Department of Psychology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, USA
| | - Jennifer Schaeffer
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jamie Russell
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Chapelain AS, Hogervorst E, Mbonzo P, Hopkins WD. Hand Preferences for Bimanual Coordination in 77 Bonobos (Pan paniscus): Replication and Extension. INT J PRIMATOL 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-010-9484-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Abstract
Historically, population-level handedness has been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. This paper summarizes published data on handedness in great apes. Comparative analysis indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos show population-level right handedness, whereas gorillas and orangutans do not. All ape species showed evidence of population-level handedness when considering specific tasks. Familial analyses in chimpanzees indicated that offspring and maternal (but not paternal) handedness was significantly positively correlated, but this finding was contingent upon the classification criteria used to evaluate hand preference. Overall, the proportion of right handedness is lower in great apes compared with humans, and various methodological and theoretical explanations for this discrepancy are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Department of Psychology, Berry College and Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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Hopkins WD, Cantalupo C. Handedness in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) is associated with asymmetries of the primary motor cortex but not with homologous language areas. Behav Neurosci 2005; 118:1176-83. [PMID: 15598127 PMCID: PMC2043153 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.118.6.1176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The neurobiology of hand preferences in nonhuman primates is poorly understood. In this study, the authors report the first evidence of an association between hand preference and precentral gyrus-morphology in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Hand preferences did not significantly correlate with other asymmetric brain regions associated with language functions in humans including the planum temporale and frontal operculum. The overall results suggest that homologous regions of the motor cortex control hand preferences in humans and apes and that these functions evolved independently of left-hemisphere specialization for language and speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Division of Psychobiology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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Hopkins WD, Stoinski TS, Lukas KE, Ross SR, Wesley MJ. Comparative assessment of handedness for a coordinated bimanual task in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). J Comp Psychol 2003; 117:302-8. [PMID: 14498806 PMCID: PMC2043167 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.117.3.302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Hand preferences for a coordinated bimanual task were assessed in a sample of 31 captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and 19 captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and were compared with chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) hand preferences in subjects that were matched on the basis of age, sex, and rearing history. The task required that the apes remove food from the inside edges of a symmetrical polyvinyl chloride pipe presented to them in their home cages. The results indicate significant species differences with chimpanzees showing population-level right-handedness and orangutans showing population-level left-handedness. The gorillas showed a nonsignificant trend toward right-handedness. The results are discussed in terms of possible ecological or biomechanical factors that may influence hand preferences in different ape species.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Division of Psychobiology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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Corp N, Byrne RW. Sex difference in chimpanzee handedness. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2003; 123:62-8. [PMID: 14669237 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.10218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees at Mahale, Tanzania, show strong individual hand preferences when they use bimanual actions in processing the fruit of Saba florida and Citrus lemon. The direction of hand preference differs between the sexes: most males are left-handed, whereas most females are right-handed. Monkeys and apes are considered to lack "handedness," in the sense of a population mode of left- or right-hand preference; they are normally ambidextrous. Indeed, strong individual preferences were previously seldom found in natural tasks. We propose that lateralization of manual actions becomes advantageous in bimanual tasks, which involve role differentiation between the hands and a need to combine power and precision. If the pattern of lateralization found here reflects the ancestral state, common to chimpanzees and humans, this may explain why, in modern humans, women tend more strongly to be right-handed than men, who include a larger minority of left-handers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Corp
- Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9JU, Scotland, UK
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Hopkins WD, Fernandez-Carriba S, Wesley MJ, Hostetter A, Pilcher D, Poss S. The use of bouts and frequencies in the evaluation of hand preferences for a coordinated bimanual task in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): an empirical study comparing two different indices of laterality. J Comp Psychol 2001; 115:294-9. [PMID: 11594498 PMCID: PMC2063574 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.115.3.294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Hand preferences for a coordinated bimanual task were assessed in 109 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Hand preference was evaluated for 4 test sessions using bouts and frequencies of hand use to compare the sensitivity of each level of analysis in evaluating individual variation in handedness. Overall, significant population-level right-handedness was found using several different measures of hand use. Handedness indices based on bouts and frequencies were highly and significantly correlated. Moreover, hand preferences were consistent across tests despite efforts to situationally bias preference during each test. Taken together, these data do not support the view that bouts are a better level of analysis for evaluating hand preference. The results further suggest that hand preferences for coordinated bimanual actions are not influenced by situational factors and may reflect an inherent specialization of the left hemisphere for motor skill.
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Affiliation(s)
- W D Hopkins
- Department of Psychology, Berry College, USA.
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Hopkins WD, Pearson K. Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) handedness: variability across multiple measures of hand use. J Comp Psychol 2000; 114:126-35. [PMID: 10890584 PMCID: PMC2001158 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.114.2.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This study examined intertask consistency in handedness across multiple measures of hand use in a sample of 187 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Hand preferences for 2 to 6 measures were collected from the sample, and hand preference scores were derived on the basis of the individual hand preferences for each measure. Seven of 15 possible intratask correlations were significant, with some degree of clustering depending on the motor demands of the tasks. Two overall measures of handedness revealed population-level right-handedness in the chimpanzees, although the degree of bias was reduced for chimpanzees tested on more than 3 measures of hand use. The results are interpreted in the context of several recent studies that proposed theoretical models of handedness in nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- W D Hopkins
- Department of Psychology, Berry College, USA.
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Andrews MW. Emergence of handedness in bonnet macaques (Macaca Radiata) on a task they were equally capable of performing with the left or right hand. Percept Mot Skills 1999; 88:1280-2. [PMID: 10485111 DOI: 10.2466/pms.1999.88.3c.1280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Seven bonnet macaques that exhibited no asymmetry in the accuracy or latency with which the right and left hands used a joystick to direct a cursor to a moving target nevertheless came to exhibit a strong hand preference in performing the task when allowed to use either hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- M W Andrews
- Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland 97520, USA.
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McGrew WC, Marchant LF. On the other hand: Current issues in and meta-analysis of the behavioral laterality of hand function in nonhuman primates. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1997. [DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(1997)25+<201::aid-ajpa8>3.0.co;2-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 272] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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