Ambidexterity (Cuellar-Partida, 2020)

STUDY TITLE: Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness

SUMMARY: Discovery of 7 locations in the genome that are associated with ambidexterity, the ability to use both hands equally well.

OVERVIEW: The majority of people have one dominant hand for performing activities such as writing. Normally, the non-dominant hand cannot be used effectively for performing these tasks without significant training. However, roughly 1% of individuals are ambidextrous, meaning they can make use of both hands effectively. This genome-wide association study aimed to identify genetic variants associated with ambidexterity. After examining over 1.76 million individuals of European ancestry, the study found 7 regions in the genome that are associated with ambidexterity (4 regions are included in this report). Furthermore, the study found that the sets of genes linked to left-handedness and ambidexterity are largely separate.

DID YOU KNOW? A small number of people cannot use either hand particularly well. Those people are termed ambisinistral, and are said to use both hands only as well as the average person uses their non-dominant hand. [SOURCE]

SAMPLE RESULTS: Learn more about the Nebula Research Library.

ambidexterity sample results

AMBIDEXTERITY-ASSOCIATED VARIANTS: rs2040498, rs10113066, rs2030237, rs36062478

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Understanding a child’s dominant hand
Is handedness determined by genetics?

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
Handedness (Wiberg, 2009)
Left-handedness (Cueller-Partida, 2020)

WEEKLY UPDATE: October 10, 2020

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