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Why are there people who write with the left
22/10/2020
Why are there people who write with the left, ergo are left-handed? The theories that have emerged in recent decades to explain it are disparate, there is even one that assures that it is the result of the mother's stress during pregnancy.
Until now it was thought that genetic differences between the left and right hemispheres of the brain determined whether someone is left or right handed. But a new study published in the journal 'eLife' found that the answer could lie in the spinal cord.
The research, carried out by Sebastian Ocklenburg, Judith Schmitz and Onur Gunturkun from Ruhr University in Bochum, along with other colleagues from the Netherlands and South Africa, found that gene activity in the spinal cord was asymmetric in the uterus and could be what it makes a person right or left handed.
The fetus can now start movements and chooses a favorite hand before the brain begins to control the body
Arm and hand movements begin in the brain, in an area called the motor cortex, which sends a signal to the spinal cord that results in movement. The researchers found that while the fetus is growing in the uterus, for up to about 15 weeks, the motor cortex and spinal cord are not yet connected, but the right or left has already been determined.
In other words, the fetus can already start movements and pick a favorite hand before the brain begins to control the body.
To reach such conclusions, the researchers analyzed gene expression in the spinal cord from the eighth to the twelfth week of pregnancy. They found that there were significant differences in the left and right segments of the spinal cord that control movement of the arm and leg.
They thus concluded that the asymmetric nature of the spinal cord could be due to something called epigenetics, or how organisms are affected by changes in the expression of their genes rather than in the genes themselves. These changes are often caused by environmental influences and can affect how a baby grows.
These differences in gene expression could affect the right and left parts of the spinal cord differently, resulting in left and right handed users.
Until now it was thought that genetic differences between the left and right hemispheres of the brain determined whether someone is left or right handed. But a new study published in the journal 'eLife' found that the answer could lie in the spinal cord.
The research, carried out by Sebastian Ocklenburg, Judith Schmitz and Onur Gunturkun from Ruhr University in Bochum, along with other colleagues from the Netherlands and South Africa, found that gene activity in the spinal cord was asymmetric in the uterus and could be what it makes a person right or left handed.
The fetus can now start movements and chooses a favorite hand before the brain begins to control the body
Arm and hand movements begin in the brain, in an area called the motor cortex, which sends a signal to the spinal cord that results in movement. The researchers found that while the fetus is growing in the uterus, for up to about 15 weeks, the motor cortex and spinal cord are not yet connected, but the right or left has already been determined.
In other words, the fetus can already start movements and pick a favorite hand before the brain begins to control the body.
To reach such conclusions, the researchers analyzed gene expression in the spinal cord from the eighth to the twelfth week of pregnancy. They found that there were significant differences in the left and right segments of the spinal cord that control movement of the arm and leg.
They thus concluded that the asymmetric nature of the spinal cord could be due to something called epigenetics, or how organisms are affected by changes in the expression of their genes rather than in the genes themselves. These changes are often caused by environmental influences and can affect how a baby grows.
These differences in gene expression could affect the right and left parts of the spinal cord differently, resulting in left and right handed users.
