Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Lefties are mentally ill and/or schizophrenics

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Lefties are mentally ill and/or schizophrenics

    BBC, News, BBC News, news online, world, uk, international, foreign, british, online, service


    Gene for left-handedness is found

    Scientists have discovered the first gene which appears to increase the odds of being left-handed.
    The Oxford University-led team believe carrying the gene may also slightly raise the risk of developing psychotic mental illness such as schizophrenia.

    The gene, LRRTM1, appears to play a key role in controlling which parts of the brain take control of specific functions, such as speech and emotion.

    The study appears in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

    The brain is set up in an asymmetrical way.

    In right-handed people the left side of the brain usually controls speech and language, and the right side controls emotions.

    However, in left-handed people the opposite is often true, and the researchers believe the LRRTM1 gene is responsible for this flip.

    They also believe people with the LRRTM1 gene may have a raised risk of schizophrenia, a condition often linked to unusual balances of brain function.

    Further research

    Lead researcher Dr Clyde Francks, from Oxford University's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, said the next step would be to probe the impact on the development of the brain further.

    He said: "We hope this study's findings will help us understand the development of asymmetry in the brain.

    "Asymmetry is a fundamental feature of the human brain that is disrupted in many psychiatric conditions."

    However, Dr Francks said left-handed people should not be worried by the links between handedness and schizophrenia.

    He said: "There are many factors which make individuals more likely to develop schizophrenia and the vast majority of left-handers will never develop a problem.

    "We don't yet know the precise role of this gene."

    About 10% of people are left-handed.

    There is evidence to suggest there are some significant differences between left and right-handed people.

    Australian research published last year found left-handed people can think quicker when carrying out tasks such as playing computer games or playing sport.

    And French researchers concluded that being left-handed could be an advantage in hand-to-hand combat.

    However, being left-handed has also been linked to a greater risk of some diseases, and to having an accident.
    One day Canada will rule the world, and then we'll all be sorry.

  • #2
    This august group also has notably higher percentages of genius and idiots in its ranks. Left-handers are Xtreme Humans!

    I've always thought it would be interesting to see how right-handers would react if all the subtle "righty" objects in our everyday world were suddenly switched to left-handed designs.
    Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
    RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-Arms

    Comment


    • #3
      Article says 10% of people are left handed. I would bet that due to the nature of the game that this site is devoted to, that that percentage is far higher thn normal.

      So...

      Who here is left handed?

      I AM!!!
      (I am NOT! Are too! Not! Too! Not! Will you two quit fighting? You're bothering the others!!!)
      Founder of The Glory of War, CHAMPIONS OF APOLYTON!!!
      1992-Perot , 1996-Perot , 2000-Bush , 2004-Bush :|, 2008-Obama :|, 2012-Obama , 2016-Clinton , 2020-Biden

      Comment


      • #4
        This raises the question: How many mice are normally left-pawed?
        1011 1100
        Pyrebound--a free online serial fantasy novel

        Comment


        • #5
          I am among the sinister...
          Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
          RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-Arms

          Comment


          • #6
            I was a leftie forced to convert into a rightie at nursery by evil religious f-ckwits...

            Somehow they overlooked which hands I held my cutlery in...
            Is it me, or is MOBIUS a horrible person?

            Comment


            • #7
              I'm left-handed.

              No, I'm not!
              Yes, I am!
              No, I'm not!
              YES, I am!

              ____________________________
              "One day if I do go to heaven, I'm going to do what every San Franciscan does who goes to heaven - I'll look around and say, 'It ain't bad, but it ain't San Francisco.'" - Herb Caen, 1996
              "If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
              ____________________________

              Comment


              • #8
                Or you could be ambidextrous...

                Though only one at a time, unless well endowed...
                Is it me, or is MOBIUS a horrible person?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Nah, I'm a true "south paw." At times I think that I'm left-bodied.

                  I was just poking fun with the schizophrenia portion of the article.
                  ____________________________
                  "One day if I do go to heaven, I'm going to do what every San Franciscan does who goes to heaven - I'll look around and say, 'It ain't bad, but it ain't San Francisco.'" - Herb Caen, 1996
                  "If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
                  ____________________________

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    And French researchers concluded that being left-handed could be an advantage in hand-to-hand combat.


                    Isn't that just because all the right-handed people train to face other right-handed people? Nothing intrinsic to left-handedness or its biology.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      No, it must be easier to surrender with your left hand....
                      "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow
                      "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Schizophrenia != DID
                        Click here if you're having trouble sleeping.
                        "We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones." - François de La Rochefoucauld

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Elok
                          This raises the question: How many mice are normally left-pawed?
                          Let us poke pointed sticks at them to find out.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Lorizael
                            Schizophrenia != DID
                            Beat me to it. But yeah, Multiple Personalities/Dissociative Identity Disorder is completely distinct from Schizophrenia (which involves delusions, paranoia and hallucinations in its most common form).
                            1011 1100
                            Pyrebound--a free online serial fantasy novel

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Elok
                              Beat me to it. But yeah, Multiple Personalities/Dissociative Identity Disorder is completely distinct from Schizophrenia (which involves delusions, paranoia and hallucinations in its most common form).
                              Pet peeve of mine. Probably because I used to think I was schizophrenic. But now I know I've been brainwashed into thinking I'm not.
                              Click here if you're having trouble sleeping.
                              "We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones." - François de La Rochefoucauld

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X