An epidemiological reconsideration of the Geschwind-Galaburda theory of cerebral lateralization
G. Dellatolas, I. Annesi, P. Jallon, M. Chavance and J. Lellouch
Methodes Statistiques et Epidemiologiques et Applications a l'Etude des Maladies Chroniques, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, Villejuif, France.
To contribute to the Geschwind-Galaburda theory of cerebral lateralization,
we examined the relationship of left-handedness to allergic disorders and
stuttering, using epidemiological data of two French samples, one of which
(N = 9591) is representative of the French male population between 17 and
24 years of age. Results showed a higher frequency of stuttering but not of
allergic disorders in left-handers. Extreme right-handedness was observed
to be significantly associated with a lower frequency of allergic
disorders; response bias might explain such a relationship. Findings were
confirmed after allowing for potential confounding factors, such as age and
education. In both samples, stuttering and allergic disorders were
significantly related.
