Scientists identify genes linked to awkwardness



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In addition, these genetic variants cause differences in brain structure, which may mean that left-handers have better verbal skills than most right-handed people.
While previous research on twins had shown that genes were at least partially responsible for controlling correction, the new study, conducted by scientists from Oxford University and published in the journal Brain, is the first to identify genetic variants separating left-handed and right-handed people.

The research could suggest a potential correlation between left-handed and superior verbal skills, said Akira Wiberg, a member of the Council of Medical Research at Oxford University, who participated in the study.

"This raises the fascinating possibility of future research that left-handed people may have an advantage when it comes to performing verbal tasks, but it must be remembered that these differences have not been seen." that as averages on a very large number of people and not all leftists will be similar, "he said in a press release.

New research needs to be conducted to test this potential benefit, according to Gwenaƫlle Douaud, co-lead author of the study and researcher at Oxford's Wellcome Center for Integrative Neuroimaging.

"We need to assess whether this further coordination of the linguistic areas between the left and right side of left-handed brains gives them an advantage in terms of verbal ability.To do this we need to conduct a study that also has and tests of ability verbale, "she said.

Genetic regions

Financed by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council and Wellcome, a British medical research charity, have studied the DNA of 400,000 people, including 38,332 left-handed, from UK bank Biobank, a database containing information on the health of volunteers from the UK. country.

They isolated four genetic regions associated with awkwardness; three of these regions were linked to proteins that influence the structure and development of the brain. Specifically, the proteins were connected to microtubules, a component of the cellular "scaffold" or cytoskeleton.

The cytoskeleton determines the structure of the cells, as well as their functioning in the body. Previous research has demonstrated the influence of the cytoskeleton on "left-right asymmetry" in other species.

"Many animals have left-right asymmetry in their development, such as snail shells winding left or right," Douaud said.

Left-handers have their day

By analyzing brain imaging in approximately 10,000 people studied, researchers found that left-handed genetic variants were associated with differences in the white matter bundles of the brain – in particular, the leaflets connecting the areas of the brain associated with the language.

In addition, Douaud told CNN, research has revealed that left-handed people "have left and right sides of the brain in a more coordinated way.

Left-handed people demonstrate "a higher synchronization of the natural oscillations of your brain, and these oscillations still occur when you are inactive," she said, a synchronization that occurs "precisely again in brain regions dedicated to language".

Scientists confirm the genetics of schizophrenia

The study also found an association between aspects of brain development related to risk management and the likelihood of developing schizophrenia or Parkinson's disease.

Dominic Furniss, lead author alongside Douaud and a member of the Nuffield Department of Orthopedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science in Oxford, told CNN: "We have known for a long time that it There are slightly more left-handers among schizophrenia patients than the general population, but left-handed people with Parkinson's are slightly fewer in number than the general population. "

The new research, said Furniss, "suggests that these diseases, along with the spontaneous nature, are the product of fundamental differences in brain development, some of which are motivated by genes".

The researchers pointed out, however, that the association between sexual tolerance, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease indicated only a correlation, not a causality, and that the difference in the number of people affected was very small.

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