Background: Handedness is predominance of one hand over the other. Factors such as prenatal environment, genetic factors, cultural influences, and persons environment contribute to handedness. Each cerebral hemisphere is responsible for different tasks that are not usually carried out by opposite hemisphere. Hence, handedness may have notable impact on neuropsychological capacities.
Aims and Objectives: The main purpose of this study is to find out there any differences in mental and neuropsychological performance in left-handed and right-handed individuals using standard tests of cognitive function.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on thirty right-handed and thirty left-handed males under the age range of 1825 years. Subjects were chosen by simple sampling, by applying criteria for inclusion and exclusion. Standardized tests have been used to assess the various aspects of mental and neuropsychological performance. We compared the findings using students Unpaired t-test.
Results: The left-handed subjects took less time than the right-handed to finish the trail making test. No difference was found in the Digit Span test score between the groups. In Folstein mini-mental status examination, no significant differences were found in memory score but the memory score duration was less in left-handed subjects. Most of the right-handed have auditory as style of learning while majority of the left-handed have visual as style of learning.
Conclusion: Our study showed that left-handed individuals showed high mental and neuropsychological performance than right-handed individuals.
Key words: Cognitive Functions; Trail Making Tests; Digit Span Test; Hand Dominance
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