Work

Grip morphology and hand use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence of a left hemisphere specialization in motor skill.

Year: 2002

Type: article

Abstract: Three experiments on grip morphology and hand use were conducted in a sample of chimpanzees. In Experiment 1, grip morphology when grasping food items was recorded, and it was found that subjects who adopted a precision grip were more right-handed than chimpanzees using other grips. In Experiment 2, the effect of food type on grasping was assessed. Smaller food items elicited significantly more precision grips for the right hand. In Experiment 3, error rates in grasping foods were compared between the left and right hands. Significantly more errors were made for the left compared with the right hand. The cumulative results indicate that chimpanzees show a left-hemisphere asymmetry in motor skill that is associated with the use of precision grips.

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology General

DOI: 10.1037//0096-3445.131.3.412

Authors: William D. Hopkins, Claudio Cantalupo, Michael J. Wesley, Autumn B. Hostetter, Dawn L. Pilcher

Institutions: Emory University, Emory National Primate Research Center

Language: English

Topic: Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Center for Research Resources, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development