title: Medial position and counterclockwise rotation of the parietal scalp hair-whorl as a possible indicator for non-right-handedness.
abstract: The objective of our study was to assess the association between position and swirling direction of the parietal whorl (PW) and handedness. In 519 patients of a pediatric practice, PWs were located and the swirling direction determined. Of those patients, handedness could be specified in 217. The right-sided PW (n = 347; 70.8%) and the clockwise (CW) swirling type (n = 411; 83.9%) of all participants were predominant in children with one PW. Non-right-handedness (NRH) was found in 40 (18.4%). Medial position of the whorl per se increases the chance for NRH, indifferent of the swirling direction. In patients with counterclockwise (CCW) swirling, the chance of NRH increased 3.5-fold for the right-sided, 5.4-fold for the left-sided, and 12.9-fold for the medial-positioned whorl. We conclude that NRH is associated with the position (medial!) and the swirling direction (CCW!) of the PW.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Lindwurmstr. 4, 80337 Munich, Germany. heinrich.schmidt@med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Depner
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kabesch