title: Real-life spatial skills, handedness, and family history of handedness.
abstract: According to , pronounced left hemisphere lateralization for language abilities in women, as in female absolute right-handers, limits their right hemisphere capacity and spatial abilities. This study examines the degree of handedness and the family history of non-right-handedness with respect to real-life spatial abilities in women. Twenty-four women had, first, to learn a new route and, second, to orient themselves within a labyrinth. In the former task, the number of errors and completion time were evaluated; in the latter task, degree of error for orienting was recorded. The results show that, contrary to Annett's prediction, right-handers with and without a family history of non-right-handedness did not differ on these measures. In addition, and unexpectedly, absolute right-handers were found to surpass non-absolute ones in the spatial orientation task. These findings do not support Annett's hypothesis and are discussed in relation to functional cerebral organization.
authors.affiliation: Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Que., Canada H3W 1W5.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ecuyer-Dab
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Joanette
authors.forename: Romedi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Passini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D010375:Pedigree; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*