Handedness, developmental disorders, and in vivo and in vitro measurements of immune responses

Abstract

Several hypotheses were tested concerning possible relationships among handedness, developmental disorders, and immune disorders derived from the Geschwind and Galaburda (1985a) formulation of the biological mechanisms of cerebral lateralization. A sample of healthy elderly participants (N = 238) completed handedness, developmental disorders, and immune disorders questionnaires. In addition, four measures of immune function (delayed hyper‐sensitivity skin testing, mitogen testing, assay for autoantibodies and circulating immune complexes, and lymphocyte count) were collected from each participant. Two of the major hypotheses were supported. Hand preference was associated with developmental disorders (r = — .22, p = .0008), and immune disorders were associated with developmental disorders (r = .38, p < .001). However, no relationship was observed between hand preference and either immune history or immune functions. The relevance of these findings for the Geschwind and Galaburda formulation are discussed.