Primary motor cortex asymmetry is correlated with handedness in capuchin monkeys (cebus apella).

Abstract

Humans exhibit a population-wide tendency toward right-handedness, and structural asymmetries of the primary motor cortex are associated with hand preference. Reported are similar asymmetries correlated with hand preference in a New World monkey (Cebus apella) that does not display population-level handedness. Asymmetry of central sulcus depth is significantly different between left-handed and right-handed individuals as determined by a coordinated bimanual task. Left-handed individuals have a deeper central sulcus in the contralateral hemisphere; right-handed individuals have a more symmetrical central sulcus depth. Cerebral hemispheric specialization for hand preference is not uniquely human and may be more common among primates in general.