Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:25:58.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Laterality Effects In Twins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

T.A. Meshkova*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
*
Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Education, Mokhovaya 9, “V”, Moscow 103009, Russia

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The laterality effects in 10 symmetrical EEG derivations in twins (20 MZ and 20 DZ pairs with a mean age of 20.5 years) were examined. The quantitative and qualitative analyses gave the following results: (1) cotwins in the MZ and DZ pairs differed particularly in the intensity of asymmetry for EEG parameters — one was more asymmetrical than the other; (2) among the MZ twins there were no “mirror” pairs (opposite asymmetry of the EEG), even where opposite-handedness existed. For example, a right-handed twin had an asymmetrical EEG, while the other, a left-hander, had a symmetrical one; (3) the most asymmetrical EEG was in the temporal derivations showing a more active left hemisphere; and, (4) there was no evidence of genetic influence in the intensity of EEG asymmetry.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1992

References

REFERENCES

1. Annett, M (1967): The binomial distribution of right, mixed and left handedness. Q J Exp Psychol 19:327.Google Scholar
2. Annett, M (1978): A single gene explanation of right and left handedness and brainness. Coventry: Lanchester Polytechnic, pp 20.Google Scholar
3. Annett, M (1987): La latéralité manuelle des jumeaux: théorie du déplacement à droite. Bull Psychol 40:747.Google Scholar
4. Ashton, GC (1982): Handedness: An alternative hypothesis. Behav Genet 12:125.Google Scholar
5. Boklage, CE (1977): Schizophrenia, brain asymmetry development and twinning: A cellular relationship with etiologic and possibly prognostic implications. Biol Psychiatry 12:19.Google Scholar
6. Boklage, CE (1985): Interactions between opposite-sex dizygotic fetuses and the assumptions of Weinberg difference method epidemiology. Am J Hum Genet 37:591.Google Scholar
7. Boklage, CE, Elston, RC, Potter, RH (1979): Cellular origins of functional asymmetries: evidence from shizophrenia, handedness, fetal membranes, and teeth in twins. In Gruzelier, J and Flor-Henry, P (eds): Developments in psychiatry: hemisphere asymmetries of function in psychopathology. Holland: Elsevier/North Holland Biomedical Press, pp 79.Google Scholar
8. Bulmer, MG (1970): The biology of twinning in man. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp 205.Google Scholar
9. Carter-Zaltzmann, L, Scarr-Salapatek, S, Barker, WB, Katz, S (1976): Left-handedness in twins: Incidence and patterns of performance in an adolescent sample. Behav Genet 6:189.Google Scholar
10. Collins, RL (1977): Origins of the sense of asymmetry: Mendelian and nonmendelian models of inheritance. Ann NY Acad Sci 299:283.Google Scholar
11. Entus, AK (1977): Hemispheric asymmetry in processing of dichotically presented speech and non-speech stimuli by infants. In Segalowitz, SJ, Gruber, FA (eds): Language development and neurological theory. New York: Acad press, pp 64.Google Scholar
12. Grindel, OM (1966): Chastotny i korrelyatsionny analis elektroencefalogrammy cheloveka v norme i pri ochagovykh porajeniyakh golovnogo mozga. (Frequency and correlational analysis of human electroencephalogram in normal subjects and patients with local brain damages). Doct Diss, Moscow.Google Scholar
13. Kanaev, II (1959): Bliznetsy (Twins). Moscow.Google Scholar
14. Lauterbach, CE (1925): Studies in twin resemblance. Genetics 10:525.Google Scholar
15. Le May, M (1976): Morphological cerebral asymmetries of modern man, fossil man and nonhuman primates. Ann NY Acad Sci 280:349.Google Scholar
16. Levy, J (1971): Lateral specialization of the human brain: behavioral manifestations and possible evolutionary basis. Biol Behav. Corvallis, Proc 32nd Annu Biol Colloq, pp 159.Google Scholar
17. Levy, J, Nagylaki, T (1972): A model for the genetics of handedness. Genetics 72:117.Google Scholar
18. Lohr, JB, Bracha, HS (1992): A monozygotic mirror-image twin pair with discordant psychiatric illness: A neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental evaluation. Am J Psychiatry 449:1091.Google Scholar
19. McManus, IC (1980: Handedness in twins: a critical review. Neuropsychologia 18:347.Google Scholar
20. Meshkova, TA (1988): Nasledstvennost i sreda v mejindividualnoy variativnosti elektroencefalogrammy (Heredity and environment in the interindividual variability of electroencephalogram). In Ravich-Shcherbo, IV (ed): Rol sredy i nasledstvennosty v formirovanii individualnosti cheloveka (The role of environment and heredity in human individuality). Moscow.Google Scholar
21. Meshkova, TA, Ravich-Shcherbo, IV (1982): Influence of the genotype on the determination of individual features of the human EEG at rest. In Schmidt, HD, Tembrok, G (eds): Evolution and determination of animal and human behavior. Berlin.Google Scholar
22. Molfese, DL, Molfese, VJ (1980): Cortical response of preterm infants to phonetic and nonphonetic speech stimuli. Dev Psychol 16:574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. Nagylaki, T, Levy, J (1973): The sound of one paw clapping isn't sound. Behav Genet 3:279.Google Scholar
24. Newman, HH (1928): Studies of human twins. II. A symmetry reversal, or mirror imaging in identical twins. Biol Bull 55:298.Google Scholar
25. Newman, HH (1940): Multiple human births: twins, triplets, quadruplets, and quintuplets. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
26. Raney, ET (1939): Brain potentials and lateral cerebral dominance in identical twins. J Exp Psychol 24:21.Google Scholar
27. Rife, DC (1933): Genetic studies of monozygotic twins. III. Mirror-imaging. J Hered 24:443.Google Scholar
28. Rife, DC (1940): Handedness with special reference to twins. Genetics 25:178.Google Scholar
29. Rife, DC (1943): Handedness and dermatoglyphics in twins. Hum Biol 15:46.Google Scholar
30. Segal, NL (1989): Origins and implications of handedness and relative birth weight for IQ in monozygotic twin pairs. Neuropsychologia 27:549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31. Serdyukovskaya, GN, Chuprikov, AP (eds) (1987): Levorukost u detey i podrostkov (Left-handedness in children and adolescents). Moscow.Google Scholar
32. Springer, SP, Searleman, A (1978): Laterality in twins: The relationship between handedness and hemispheric asymmetry for speech. Behav Genet 8:349.Google Scholar
33. Witelson, SF, Pallie, W (1973): Left hemisphere specialization for language in the newborn. Brain 96:641.Google Scholar