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Pedal asymmetries and handedness
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
|February 1, 1985
Summary
Pedal asymmetries are not influenced by handedness or sex in the general population. This study found no correlation, challenging previous claims and their implications for brain injury assessments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Biology
- Biometrics
Background:
- Previous research suggested a link between pedal asymmetries and handedness/sex.
- Such links could complicate the assessment of localized brain injury.
- Replication attempts of these findings have largely failed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To rigorously re-evaluate the hypothesis linking pedal asymmetries to handedness and sex.
- To utilize a more representative sample and precise measurements.
- To clarify confounding factors in neurological assessments.
Main Methods:
- Employed rigorous measurements for both handedness and foot length.
- Utilized a representative sample size to allow for larger hand-by-sex groupings.
- Compared foot size direction across different handedness and sex classifications.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant differences in foot size direction were observed.
- Results were consistent regardless of an individual's handedness classification.
- No association was found between foot size and sex.
Conclusions:
- The hypothesis that pedal asymmetries are a function of handedness and sex is not supported by this study.
- Findings suggest that foot size is independent of handedness and sex in the general population.
- This clarifies that pedal asymmetries are unlikely to confound assessments of localized brain injury based on handedness or sex.