The Clinical Relevance of Hand Preference and Laterality

Handedness is not a unidimensional trait but rather part of a multifactorial system best described as one of the aspects comprising human laterality of the whole body and including associated neural mechanisms. In this review, different methods for assessing and classifying handedness are examined and three major models – genetic, pathological and environmental factors – are explored as a possible rationale for an individual’s handedness. The relationship between handedness and turning preferences due to the underlying link between hemispheric dopamine asymmetries in the brain and turning preferences and their fundamental implications for rightand left-handed individuals and their turning preference is also examined. The clinical relevance of turning preference in rightand left-handed individuals for therapists and the scope for further research in the areas of ergonomics, neurological rehabilitation and hand therapy is given emphasis.