Inverse correlation between right-paw use and body weight in right-pawed male cats and left-pawed female cats.
The association between paw preference and body weight was studied in cats. In right-pawed males, the right minus left (R-L) paw use significantly decreased as the body weight increased. There was no significant correlation between these parameters in left-pawed males as well as in right-pawed females. In left-pawed females, the frequency of the left-paw use increased as the body weight increased. These results partly supported those in humans (Tan, in press). It was suggested that hormonal factors affecting body weight may also influence cerebral lateralization and consequently paw preference. The best possibility for these hormones appears to be testosterone.
Tan
U
U
Atatürk University, Medical Faculty, Department of Physiology, Erzurum, Turkey.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D012737:Sex Factors
D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones