Abstract
Handedness and its possible inheritance have been studied in a colony of 69 Macaca radiata by observation of hand usage during daily feeding and foraging activities. Each animal was observed for the number of right- and left-handed actions made during two tasks: feeding and searching. Individual animals fell into one of three classes: significantly right-handed, significantly left-handed, and no significant preference. For analysis, handedness was considered as both a directional phenomenon (percentage right-handed usage) and a degree phenomenon (absolute deviation from 50:50 hand usage). Feeding and searching were significantly correlated for both direction and degree. Therefore, laterality for handedness does exist in this primate species. A developmental aspect to laterality was suggested by the positive correlation of degree with age. No mother-offspring correlations were found for either direction or degree and half-sibships were not more similar for either. Thus, there is no evidence for a genetic component to either direction or degree of handedness.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 49-56 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Behavior genetics |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 1981 |
Keywords
- Macaca radiata
- bonnett monkeys
- degree of handedness
- genetics of handedness
- handedness
- laterality
- macaques