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Left-handed People Think Faster Than Right-handed People Their brain hemispheres communicate better	By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor 15th of December 2006, 08:21 GMT Adjust text size:


It seems that Neo (Keanu Reaves - photo) from Matrix was so fast because ... he was left-handed! .... Researchers at Australian National University discovered that left-handed people can think quicker when carrying out tasks such as playing computer games or playing sports, as connections between the left and right brain hemispheres are faster in left-handed people and they tend to use the whole brain more easily. The fast exchange of information in the brain makes left-handers more efficient when facing tasks that require multiple stimuli. The transfer time between the two sides of the brain was measured by assessing reaction times to white dots flashed to the left and right of a fixed cross. The subjects were also evaluated at carrying out a task to spot matching letters in the left and right visual fields, which would require them to use both sides of the brain at the same time. Tests in 80 right-handed volunteers revealed a strong correlation between how quickly information was transferred across the left and right hemispheres and how quickly people spotted matching letters. The same tests made on 20 left-handed volunteers found that the more left-handed those people were, the better they were at processing information across the two sides of the brain. Extreme left-handed subjects were 43 milliseconds faster at spotting matching letters across the right and left visual fields than right-handed people. "These findings confirm our prediction of increasing efficiency of hemispheric interactions with increasing left-handedness." said Dr Cherbuin from the research team. But the differences between strongly and mildly left-handed or right-handed individuals were subtle. Subjects tended to use both hemispheres for tasks which are very fast or very difficult and which require interpretation of a lot of information, such as computer games or driving in heavy traffic or playing sport. "Left-handed people tended to be better at using both sides of the brain" said Dr. Steve Williams, a psychologist. "It's certainly very interesting. It's always been said that left-handers are different from right-handers in that they are less consistent with their left-handedness." "This seems to go with evidence that left-handers use both sides of the brain for language - that they are more bicerebral. They get faster at it because they have to use both sides of the brain more." "In football, being able to shoot with either foot is a huge asset (each foot like each hand is under opposite-side control) and I've heard that left-handers tend to have better backhands in tennis," he added.

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