title: Effects of early adverse experiences on behavioural lateralisation in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).
abstract: In the past 15 to 20 years, evidence of population-level handedness in non-human primates has emerged from a plethora of studies, although considerable inconsistency is also apparent. The study reported here examined two factors that may contribute to the expression of hand preference: early rearing history and sex differences. Handedness was assessed in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) using a task that measures coordinated bimanual actions and is referred to as the TUBE task. Nursery-reared monkeys demonstrated greater left-hand bias in the TUBE task when compared to their mother-reared counterparts. Females showed greater right-hand preference and stronger bias on the TUBE task compared to males. These results provide evidence that early rearing experiences significantly influence the development of lateralisation in nonhuman primates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology/Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. abennett@wfubmc.edu
authors.forename: Allyson J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Suomi
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Hopkins
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment