The Link Between Cerebellar Dominance and Skilled Hand Performance in 8-10-Year-Old Right-Handed Children
Abstract
Although literature surrounding handedness and cerebellar asymmetry is limited, many researchers have suggested that a relationship exists (e.g., A. A.
Beaton, 2003; L. Jancke, K.
Specht, S. Mirzazade, & M.
Peters, 1999; I. C.
McManus & K. M.
Cornish, 1997; M. Peters, 1995; P.J.
Snyder, R. M.
Bilder, H. Wu, B.
Bogerts, & J. A.
Lieberman, 1995). For example, J.
Tichy and J. Belacek (2008, 2009) identified a link between cerebellar dominance and hand preference.
The authors aimed to assess the relationship between cerebellar dominance and handedness, in 8-10-year-olds (N = 157 right-handers) as assessed with hand performance tests. Articular joint passivity in the wrist and performance differences between the hands were used as a means of assessing cerebellar dominance, where a link to skilled hand performance tests was revealed.
Specifically, significant correlations between articular joint passivity and all measurements of handedness (p < .001) were observed. Greater hypotonia was seen in the left wrist of 95% of right-handers.
This result supports the assumption that the preferred and nonpreferred hand could be controlled by the cerebellum in a different ways.