Reading Retardation and Cross‐laterality in Relation to Short‐term Information Processing Tasks

Abstract

SUMMARY.The performance of 10 cross-lateral children was compared with a control group of 10 uni-lateral children on short-term information processing tasks using three types of units-digits, letters and symbols. The tasks consisted of presenting different numbers of units of information simultaneously by tachistoscopic exposure. The cross-lateral group took significantly longer to identify accurately the information presented : their performance significantly deteriorated as the information load was increased from three to five units. The cross-lateral group was also significantly inferior to the matched control group on reading age. It is contended that the reading retardation associated with cross-laterality (which is indicative of ill-established cerebral dominance) is a specific manifestation of a general limitation in any kind of information processing.

Is crossed laterality associated with academic achievement and intelligence? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Overall, the fact that the majority of studies failed to observe significant differences and that the few studies with significant findings yielded inconsistent results suggests that the significant effects obtained in children with crossed laterality are likely to be unreliable. This conclusion is consistent with the results of similar studies that were excluded from this review because they failed to provide an operative definition of crossed laterality or because they treated crossed and mixed laterality indistinctly (e.g., [ 16 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 85 ], but see [ 13 ]). Similarly, these results are also consistent with previous non-systematic reviews done in the field of laterality [ 86 , 87 ].…”

“…For instance, studies that considered laterality as a continuous variable, from totally right to totally left, were not included [ 10 , 25 , 50 – 55 ]. Similarly, studies where mixed and crossed laterality were merged were also excluded [ 9 , 49 , 56 – 60 ]. In either case, intermediate scores could refer either to genuine crossed laterality or to mixed laterality.…”

Using a continuous index of laterality to determine how laterality is related to interhemispheric transfer and bimanual coordination in children

“…Corey, Hurley, and Foundas (2001) established handedness groups in adults by a combination of hand-preference inventories and hand-performance measures, but that is as close as anyone has come. We included eye preference in our index, as it has become clear from several studies that hand-eye laterality relationships can influence the level of performance in manual (Gorynia & Egenter, 2000) and cognitive (Wheeler, Watkins, & McLaughlin, 1977) tasks. We devised a single laterality index based on (a) preference tests that assessed the spontaneous use of one or the other hand on several tasks, including writing and the spontaneous use of one eye to look through a hole; and (b) the right-left performance difference tested on the peg-moving task and on the unimanual crank-rotation task.…”

Is crossed laterality associated with academic achievement and intelligence? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…For instance, studies that considered laterality as a continuous variable, from totally right to totally left, were not included [10,25,[50][51][52][53][54][55]. Similarly, studies where mixed and crossed laterality were merged were also excluded [9,49,[56][57][58][59][60]. In either case, intermediate scores could refer either to genuine crossed laterality or to mixed laterality.…”