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Handedness and brain asymmetries in nonhuman primates.
William D Hopkins1, Adrien Meguerditchian2
1Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, United States.
Handbook of Clinical Neurology
|March 12, 2025
Summary
Human brain and behavioral asymmetries, particularly language lateralization, may not be unique. Research in nonhuman primates, especially chimpanzees and baboons, reveals similar patterns in brain structure and communication, offering insights into language evolution.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Primatology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Humans display right-handedness and left-hemisphere dominance for language.
- Understanding the uniqueness of human brain and behavioral asymmetries is crucial.
- Nonhuman primates offer comparative models for studying these asymmetries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate population-level behavioral and brain asymmetries in nonhuman primates.
- To explore the link between communication (gestures) and neuroanatomic asymmetries in primates.
- To contextualize findings within theories of language lateralization evolution.
Main Methods:
- Review of current findings on primate behavioral and brain asymmetries.
- Analysis of data on communication functions and neuroanatomy in nonhuman primates.
- Emphasis on data from chimpanzees and baboons.
Main Results:
- Nonhuman primates exhibit population-level behavioral and brain asymmetries.
- Associations were found between communication functions, particularly gestures, and neuroanatomic asymmetries.
- Data suggest shared evolutionary roots for lateralization.
Conclusions:
- Brain and behavioral asymmetries, including those related to communication, are not exclusive to humans.
- Primate studies provide valuable insights into the evolutionary origins of language lateralization.
- Further research can illuminate the trajectory of language evolution.
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