In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers have identified 48 genetic variants that influence if a person is left-handed, right-handed, or ambidextrous.
The research led by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and The University of Queensland also confirmed that environment plays a far larger part than genes in which hand a person prefers to use.
Co-senior author and head of QIMR Berghofer’s Psychiatric Genetics Group, Professor Sarah Medland said 41 of the identified genetic variants influenced a person’s chances of being left-handed. Seven were associated with ambidexterity, which describes when a person is equally proficient with each hand.
“The 41 genetic variants influencing left-handedness were different to the seven we identified for ambidexterity, and we saw very little correlation between the results for the two traits,” Professor Medland…
