Right-handed one day, right-handed the next day? 2020

Jacqueline Fagard, and Daniela Corbetta, and Eszter Somogyi, and Anna Safar, and Cyann Bernard
Integrative Neuroscience Cognitive Center, University Paris Descartes CNRS, Paris, France.

Although a population bias toward right-hand preference is observed at the early stage of grasping, hand preference fluctuates in infancy. Given these fluctuations, one can wonder whether testing a young infant on a single occasion gives reliable results of its handedness. Very few studies have evaluated short-term test-retest reliability. This was the goal of this study in which 21 infants aged 9-15 months were tested for handedness every day for a total of 5 sessions. The infants were given a classical handedness baby test. Their handedness index (HI) and their category of handedness were compared across sessions. The results show that at the group level the distribution of handedness does not differ significantly across the five sessions. At the individual level, only 19% of infants were categorized as right-handed at all five sessions while 52.4% were consistent in using more one hand than the other across the five sessions (right hand: 47.6%). Most of the fluctuations across sessions occurred between being lateralized and non-lateralized rather than between being right-handed and left-handed. These figures indicate that testing handedness at that age gives fairly reliable results in terms of direction of hand preference, but less so in terms of degree.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007839 Functional Laterality Behavioral manifestations of cerebral dominance in which there is preferential use and superior functioning of either the left or the right side, as in the preferred use of the right hand or right foot. Ambidexterity,Behavioral Laterality,Handedness,Laterality of Motor Control,Mirror Writing,Laterality, Behavioral,Laterality, Functional,Mirror Writings,Motor Control Laterality,Writing, Mirror,Writings, Mirror
D009042 Motivation Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli. Incentives,Disincentives,Expectations,Disincentive,Expectation,Incentive,Motivations
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D006225 Hand The distal part of the arm beyond the wrist in humans and primates, that includes the palm, fingers, and thumb. Hands
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D015203 Reproducibility of Results The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results. Reliability and Validity,Reliability of Result,Reproducibility Of Result,Reproducibility of Finding,Validity of Result,Validity of Results,Face Validity,Reliability (Epidemiology),Reliability of Results,Reproducibility of Findings,Test-Retest Reliability,Validity (Epidemiology),Finding Reproducibilities,Finding Reproducibility,Of Result, Reproducibility,Of Results, Reproducibility,Reliabilities, Test-Retest,Reliability, Test-Retest,Result Reliabilities,Result Reliability,Result Validities,Result Validity,Result, Reproducibility Of,Results, Reproducibility Of,Test Retest Reliability,Validity and Reliability,Validity, Face
D018737 Hand Strength Force exerted when gripping or grasping. Grasp,Grip,Grip Strength,Hand Grip Strength,Grasps,Grip Strength, Hand,Grips,Strength, Grip,Strength, Hand,Strength, Hand Grip

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