Are left-handers quicker thinkers than righties?

Researchers have found that left-handers have brains that are more conducive to simultaneous, bi-hemisphere processing of information. As it turns out, left-handers might have the advantage in certain areas like, say, piloting a jet fighter or talking and driving at the same time.

For most people, language processing happens in the left hemisphere. For left-handed people, it might actually take place in both hemispheres. Another area of specialization is that of sensory-data processing: Typically, data picked up on the right side of the body (the right eye, the right ear, etc.) goes to the left hemisphere for processing, and data picked up on the left side goes to the right hemisphere. In the end, the brain essentially combines the processing results from both hemispheres to come up with what we consciously see and hear.

The new research adds to the slowly growing body of work supporting the hypothesis that people who favor their left hand for writing probably have brains that are more conducive to simultaneous, bi-hemisphere processing of information. The ANU researchers set up tests intended specifically to test the speed of information flow between the two sides of the brain. There were 80 right-handers and 20 left-handers involved in the study.

According to lead researcher Dr. Nick Cherbuin in an interview with AM ABC, the results support the anatomical observation that the major "connection between the left brain and the right brain" is "somewhat larger and better connected in left-handers."

So what does this mean? It could mean that left-handers have a slight advantage in sports, gaming and other activities in which players face large volumes of stimuli being thrown at them simultaneously or in quick succession. Theoretically, they could more easily use both hemispheres of the brain to manage that stimuli, resulting in faster overall processing and response time. It could also mean that when one hemisphere of the brain got overloaded and started to slow down, the other hemisphere could more easily pick up the slack without missing a beat. Experts also theorize that left-handed people could fare better mentally as they move into old age and overall brain processing starts to slow down: With a greater ability for one brain hemisphere to quickly back up the tasks of the other, left-handed seniors could retain mental quickness longer than their right-handed counterparts.

Comments

Anonymous said…

As a left-handed person, I tend to notice other lefties. As a student I thought I noticed that compared to the norm, left-handed people are either a bit more intelligent or creative-- or both. For at least thirty years I've been testing the theory informally and have never found an exception. In fact, most left-handers have noticed themselves and will say so if asked.

13 December, 2006 02:28

Spluch said…

Personally, I've worked with quite a number of left-handers, and I do find them slightly more intelligent or creative.

14 December, 2006 23:50