Hand usage in a colony of bonnett monkeys,Macaca radiata

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.

Heritability of hand preference in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence from a partial interspecies cross-fostering study.

“…In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that chimpanzee hand preferences are heritable, a result that is consistent with human findings (Porac & Coren, 1981); with one previous report in captive chimpanzees (W. D. ; and, to some extent, with findings in monkeys (Brinkman, 1984; but see Brooker et al, 1981;Kubota, 1990;Westergaard & Suomi, 1997). In contrast with previous studies, this is the first heritability study in nonhuman primates in which rearing history was manipulated and allowed for a dissociation of genetic and environmental contributions to the expression of hand preference.…”

Early lateral bias in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella)

“…In previous research with capuchins, we did not find evidence for parental contribution to offspring reaching bias, although we cannot rule out the possibility that the young age of our offspring subjects may have limited our ability to detect significant heritability (Westergaard & Suomi, in press). However, a similar lack of parental contribution to offspring reaching bias has been noted in Macaca (Brooker, Lehman, Heinbuch, & Kidd, 1981;Kubota, 1990; but see Collins, 1985, for a discussion of research indicating that strength, but not direction, of paw preference is heritable in mice). The combined lack of humanlike language abilities, population-level right-handedness, and parent-offspring transmission of lateral bias for reaching in monkeys suggests to us that intrinsic factors which influence the direction of lateral bias in humans and apes do not have analogous influence on the direction of lateral bias in monkeys.…”

Hand preference and skill in 115 children of two left‐handed parents

“…It is unlikely that there is a genetic influence on the paw preferences of non-human mammals, in whom preferences are about evenly divided between right and left, with many animals using either side (Finch, 1941 ;Collins, 1977;Brooker et al, 1981). There are several lines of evidence suggesting a genetic influence on handedness in man (reviewed by Levy, 1976).…”