Left-handedness: association with immune disease, migraine, and developmental learning disorder.

Abstract

We report an experimental study designed to test the following hypothesis derived from clinical observations: There is an elevated frequency in left-handed individuals and in their families of immune disease, migraine, and developmental learning disorders. In two separate investigations the frequency ofthese conditions was compared -in strongly left-handed subjects and -in strongly right-handed controls. In each of the investigations we found markedly higher frequencies of immune disease in the lefthanders than in the rightphanders. The rate of learning disabilities was also much higher in the left-handers than in the right-handers in both investigations. In a second study the frequency of lefthandedness was compared in patients with migraine or immune disease and in general population control subjects free of these disorders. There was' a higher frequency of left-handedness in patients with migraine and myasthenia gravis than in controls. We present a brief outline of a hypothesis that may account for an increased frequency of immune disease in left-handers and in their families.Cerebral dominance-i. e., greater proficiency ofeach cerebral hemisphere in acquisition and performance of certain specific functions-has been recognized as a biological characteristic of humans' for over 100 years. In most people there is dominance ofthe left hemisphere for language and ofthe right side for certain spatial functions. The older literature dealt predominantly with humans, with major stress on the laterality of lesions producing certain cognitive deficits. Since World War H' there have been many studies that demonstrate dominance in normals.By contrast, few studies on laterality deal with the kinds of data that are often found in studies ofother biological traits, such as eye color. Examples of such data include the anatomical structures involved, biochemical and' immunological properties, genetics, ontogeny, evolution, and comparative features in other species. In older publications one finds a few discussions ofassociations ofhandedness, such as asymmetries in fingerprints (1). More recent studies deal with anatomical asymmetries in the human brain, especially in language areas (2-6), asymmetries of function and structure in other species (7-11), the genetics of handedness (10, 12, 13), and the relationship of sinistrality to learning disabilities and to artistic, athletic, and other -talents (12,14). Anatomical maldevelopment has been demonstrated in the left side of the cortex (15) and in the thalamus (16) of a left-handed childhood dyslexic. These studies reflect growing interest in the' biological associations of dominance.Since the autumn of 1980, one of us (N.G.) has been impressed by observations on both patients and normals with an apparently elevated frequency ofcertain disorders in left-handers and in their families, including immune disorders (e.g., ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis) and migraine. Developmental learning disorders (e. g., dyslexia and stuttering) were als...

Brain asymmetry, immunity, handedness

“…The investigations of Geschwind and Behan [37] revealed that the incidence of diseases associated with disorders in the immune system is two and a half times higher in left-handers than in right-handers. The specific diseases are ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, coeliacia, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, thyrotoxicosis, diabetes, migraine, myasthenia gravis, and rheumatoid arthritis.…”

The interrelationship between clinical and immunity variables in epilepsy

“…It must be emphasised, that since the studies of Geschwind and coauthors (Geschwind and Behan, 1982;Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985a,b,c) the handedness is regarded as a principal functional characteristic of cerebral organization and depends on immune and hormonal mechanisms. Moreover, the authors have shown that certain autoimmune diseases are prevalent in left-handers over the right-handed persons (Geschwind and Behan, 1982;Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985a,b,c;McManus and Bryden, 1991).…”

“…Moreover, the authors have shown that certain autoimmune diseases are prevalent in left-handers over the right-handed persons (Geschwind and Behan, 1982;Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985a,b,c;McManus and Bryden, 1991). It implies the intrinsic relations between immunity and cerebral lateralization, and handedness, in particular, although the role of handedness in terms of interaction with immunity in epilepsy has yet to be elucidated.…”

Impact of right‐handedness on anaesthetic sensitivity, intra‐operative awareness and postoperative mortality

“…Left-handedness has been tentatively linked with numerous pathological conditions [25][26][27][28][29][30] including hypertension and, in some studies, with decreased longevity [31][32][33][34][35]. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the shorter lifespan observed in left-handers [29][30][31][32][33][34][35]; hypotheses have included abnormal developmental factors in utero, increased birth stress and increased risk of lethal accidents among left-handers.…”