New Study Illuminates the Genetic Links to Left-Handedness

A recent study has highlighted a potential genetic component to left-handedness, identifying rare variants of the TUBB4B gene that are more prevalent in left-handed individuals. This discovery offers intriguing insights into the brain's asymmetry and how it influences hand dominance.

Key Findings:

• Genetic Variants and Left-Handedness: The study found rare variants of the TUBB4B gene to be 2.7-times more common in left-handed people, although these account for just about 0.1% of left-handedness cases.

• Brain Asymmetry: The research underscores the role of brain hemisphere dominance in determining hand preference, with most people exhibiting left-hemisphere dominance for language and right-hemisphere dominance for spatial attention tasks.

Role of TUBB4B Gene:

• Cell Structure Influence: TUBB4B is involved in producing a protein that forms part of microtubules, crucial for cell structure and potentially instrumental in establishing the brain's asymmetry.

• Implications for Brain Development: The gene's variants hint at microtubules' involvement in the early developmental differentiation of the brain's cerebral hemispheres.

Research Methodology:

• Extensive Genetic Data Analysis: The findings were derived from the U.K. Biobank dataset, covering over 350,000 individuals, with approximately 11% being left-handed.

Insights on Hand Dominance Determination:

• Developmental Variation: The study suggests that for most people, hand dominance might result from random developmental variations rather than specific genetic or environmental factors.

Additional Information to Remember:

• This study contributes to understanding the complex interplay between genetics and environmental factors in determining left-handedness, highlighting the TUBB4B gene's potential role in brain asymmetry development.

• The findings open avenues for further research into how cellular structures influence neurological development and hand preference.

Keywords to Remember:

• TUBB4B Gene: A gene implicated in the study as having variants more common in left-handed individuals, involved in cell structure.

• Brain Asymmetry: The anatomical and functional differences between the brain's hemispheres that relate to hand dominance and other cognitive functions.

• Microtubules: Cellular structures that TUBB4B influences, potentially playing a role in the brain's developmental asymmetry.

Reason it's important : Genes involved in cell shape offer clues on left-handedness

Published in : The Hindu

Date appeared in newspaper : 04 April 2024

Link to the article (might require a paid subscription) : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/2024-04-04/th_international/articleG6ICKHHK2-6349723.ece