Dominanza manuale, disturbi del linguaggio e difficoltà di apprendimento della L2 / Manual dominance, language disorders and L2 learning difficulties

  • Antonino Bucca
Keywords: left-handedness, cerebral asymmetry, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, L2 difficulty

Abstract

Does it really make sense to imagine research on the hypothesis of a possible correlation between left-handed dominance and some language and/or learning disorders? Can this idea find a place within a broader theoretical-naturalistic model of the origin and the functioning of language? Finally, is it useful to consider this correlation also in relation to gender and/or cultural differences?

The problem of a possible correlation between mancinism and manifestations of some language disorder is not new at all. In fact, from Samuel T. Orton’s (1937) surveys to a number of other recent researches, this hypothesis has been at the center of several studies (among others, see: CORBALLIS 1974; SATZ, FLETCHER 1987; EGLINTON, ANNETT 1994; MCMANUS 1999; ANNETT 2011; SCERRI et al. 2011; VLACHOS et al. 2013). Moreover, this idea is also confirmed by empirical observations of class teachers in primary schools.

There may, therefore, be a correlation between left-handed dominance and the greater incidence in left-handed subjects of some language and/or learning disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia (Learning Disabilities – LD, or DSA), and learning difficulty of the second language (L2). To try to better understand this problem, I present the results of our research on a representative sample of children from the Italian primary school.

References

ANNETT, Marian (1972), «The distribution of manual asymmetry», in British Journal of Phychology, 63, pp. 343-358.

ANNETT, Marian (1993), «The right shift theory of a genetic balanced polymorphism for cerebral dominance and cognitive processing», in Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive, 14, pp. 427-480.

ANNETT, Marian (2008), «The Right Shift Theory of Handedness and Brain Asymmetry in Evolution, Development and Psychopathology», in Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 10, pp. 235-250.

ANNETT, Marian (2011), «Dyslexia and handedness: Developmental and surface dyslexias are associated with different biases for handedness», in Perceptual and Motor Skills, 112, pp. 417-425.

ANTONIETTI, Alessandro, FABIO, Rosa A., BOARI, Giuseppe, BONANOMI, Andrea (2005), «Il questionario ‘Style of Learning and Thinking’ (SOLAT): Dati psicometrici per una validazione e standardizzazione della versione italiana», in TPM Testing Psicometria Metodologia, 12, 4, pp. 299-316.

BADCOCK, Nicholas A., BISHOP, Dorothy V.M., HARDIMAN, Mervyn J., BARRY, Johanna G., WATKINS, Kate E. (2012), «Co-localisation of abnormal brain structure and function in specific language impairment», in Brain & Language, 120, pp. 310-320.

BARBIERO, Chiara, LONCIARI, Isabella, MONTICO, Marcella, MONASTA, Lorenzo, PENGE, Roberta, VIO, Claudio, TRESSOLDI, Patrizio E., FERLUGA, Valentina, BIGONI, Anna, TULLIO, Alessia, CARROZZI, Marco, RONFANI, Luca. (2012), «The Submerged Dyslexia Iceberg: How Many School Children Are Not Diagnosed? Results from an Italian Study», in PLoS ONE, 7(10), pp. 1-9.

BASIC, S., HAJNSEK, S., POLJAKOVIC, Z., BASIC, M., CULIC, V., ZADRO, I. (2004), «Determination of cortical language dominance using functional transcranial Doppler sonography in left-handers», in Clinical Neurophysiology, 115, pp. 154-160.

BEATON, Alan A. (1997), «The Relation of Planum Temporale Asymmetry and Morphology of the Corpus Callosum to Handedness, Gender, and Dyslexia: A Review of the Evidence», in Brain & Language, 60, pp. 255-322.

BHATTACHARYYA, S., CAI, X., KLEIN, J.P. (2014), «Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and Left-Right Confusion from a Left Posterior Peri-Insular Infarct», in Behavioural Neurology, pp, 1-4.

BISHOP, Dorothy V.M. (2000), «How does the brain learn language? Insights from the study of children with and without language impairment», in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 42, pp. 133-142.

BISHOP, Dorothy V.M. (2005), «Handedness and Specific Language Impairment: A Study of 6 Year Old Twins», in Developmental Psychobiology, 46, pp. 293-369.

BISHOP, Dorothy V.M. (2013), «Cerebral Asymmetry and Language Development: Cause, Correlate, or Consequence?», in Science, 340(6138), pp. 1230531-3.

BRANDLER, William M., PARACCHINI, Silvia (2014), «The genetic relationship between handedness and neurodevelopmental disorders», in Trends in Molecular Medicine, 20(2), pp. 83-90.

BUCCA, Antonino, ARCORACI, Carmen V. (2015), «Language and learning disorders in handers children», in Conjectura: filosofia e educação, 20(1), pp. 13-22.

BUCCA, Antonino, CARUSO, Caterina, ARCORACI, Carmen V. (2017), L’indecisione emisferica, i DSA e le difficoltà di apprendimento della L2, in CRUCIANI, Marco, TABACCHI Marco E. (eds.), Nuovi sguardi sulle scienze cognitive, Corisco Edizioni, Roma-Messina, pp. 1-9.

BUCCA, Antonino, ARCORACI, Carmen V. (2017), Le differenze di genere nei DSA e nelle difficoltà di apprendimento della L2: il caso dei mancini, in CRUCIANI, Marco, TABACCHI Marco E. (eds.), Nuovi sguardi sulle scienze cognitive, Corisco Edizioni, Roma-Messina, pp. 1-9.

CORBALLIS, Michael C. (1974), «The left-right problem in psychology», in The Canadian Psychologist, 15(1), pp. 16-33.

COREN, Stanley, PORAC, Clare (1977), «Fifth centuries of right-handedness: The historical record», in Science, 198, pp. 631-632.

CORINA, David P., VAID, Jyotsna, BELLUGI, Ursula (1992), «The Linguistic Basis of Left Hemisphere Specialization», in Science, 255, pp. 1258-1260.

CROW, T.J., CROW, L.R., DONE, D.J., LEASK, S. (1998), «Relative hand skill predicts academic ability: global deficits at the point of hemispheric indecision», in Neuropsychologia, 36(12), pp. 1275-1282.

D’ANSELMO, Anita, REITERER, Susanne, ZUCCARINI, Francesca, TOMMASI, Luca, BRANCUCCI, Alfredo. (2013), «Hemispheric asymmetries in bilinguals: tongue similarity affects lateralization of second language», in Neuropsychologia, 51(7), pp. 1187-1194.

DANESI, Marcel (2003), Second Language Teaching. A View from the Right Side of the Brain, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

DE FOSSÉ, Lies, HODGE, Steven M., MAKRIS, Nikos, KENNEDY, David N., CAVINESS, Verne S., MCGRATH, Lauren, STEELE, Shelley, ZIEGLER, David A., HERBERT, Martha R., FRAZIER, Jean A., TAGER-FLUSBERG, Helen, HARRIS, Gordon J. (2004), «Language-Association Cortex Asymmetry in Autism and Specific Language Impairment», in Annals of Neurology, 56(6), pp. 757-766.

EDGAR, J. Christopher, YEO, Ron A., GANGESTAD, Steven W., BLAKE, Melissa B., DAVIS, John T., LEWINE, Jeffrey D., CAÑIVE, José M. (2006), «Reduced auditory M100 asymmetry in schizophrenia and dyslexia: Applying a developmental instability approach to assess atypical brain asymmetry», in Neuropsychologia, 44(2), pp. 289-299.

EGLINTON, Elizabeth, ANNETT, Marian (1994), «Handedness and Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis», in Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, pp. 1611-1616.

GESCHWIND, Norman, LEVITSKY, Walter (1968), «Human brain: Left-right asymmetries in temporal speech region», in Science, 161, pp. 186-187.

GHIDONI, Enrico, ANGELINI, Damiano (2007), «La diagnosi di dislessia evolutiva in Italia: situazione e prospettive dall’infanzia all’età adulta», in Lo Spallanzani, 21, pp. 87-94.

ILLINGWORTH, Sarah, BISHOP, Dorothy V.M. (2009), «Atypical cerebral lateralisation in adults with compensated developmental dyslexia demonstrated using functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound», in Brain & Language, 111, pp. 61-65.

KNECHT, S., DRAGER, B., DEPPE, M., BOBE, L., LOHMANN, H., FLOEL, A., RINGELSTEIN, E.-B., HENNINGSEN, H. (2000), «Handedness and hemispheric language dominance in healthy humans», in Brain, 123(12), pp. 2512-2518.

KUCIAN, Karin, GROND, Ursina, ROTZER, Stephanie, HENZI, Bettina., SCHÖNMANN, Claudia, PLANGGER, Fabienne, GÄLLI, Markus, MARTIN, Ernst, von ASTER, Michael (2011), «Mental number line training in children with developmental dyscalculia», in NeuroImage, 57, pp. 782-795.

LENNEBERG, Eric H. (1967), Biological Foundations of Language, John Wiley and Sons, New York.

LIEBERMAN, Philip (2002), «On the nature and evolution of the neural bases of human language», in American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 119(35), pp. 36-62.

MCMANUS, Ian C. (1999), Handedness, cerebral lateralization, and the evolution of language, in CORBALLIS, Michael C., LEA, Stephen E.G. (eds.), The descent of mind: Psychological perspectives on hominid evolution, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 194-217.

OLDFIELD, R.C. (1971), «The assessment and analysis of handedness: The Edinburgh Inventory», in Neuropsychologia, 9, pp. 97-113.

ORTON, Samuel T. (1937), Reading, Writing, and Speech Problems in Children, Norton, New York.

PECINI, Chiara, CASALINI, Claudia, BRIZZOLARA, Daniela, CIPRIANI, Paola, PFANNER, Lucia, CHILOSI Anna M. (2005), «Hemispheric specialization for language in children with different types of Specific Language Impairment», in Cortex, 41, pp. 157-167.

PERANI, D., PAULESU, E., GALLES, N.S., DUPOUX, E., DEHAENE, S., BETTINARDI, V., CAPPA, S.F., FAZIO, F., MEHLER, J. (1998), «The bilingual brain. Proficiency and age of acquisition of the second language», in Brain, 121, pp. 1841-1852.

SATZ, Paul, FLETCHER, Jack M. (1987), «Left-handedness and dyslexia: an old myth revisited», in Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 12, pp. 291-298.

SCERRI, Thomas S., BRANDLER, William M., PARACCHINI, Silvia, MORRIS, Andrew P., RING, Susan M., RICHARDSON, Alex J., TALCOTT, Joel B., STEIN, John, MONACO, Anthony P. (2011), «PCSK6 is associated with handedness in individuals with dyslexia», in Human Molecular Genetics, 20(3) pp. 608-614.

SILANI, G., FRITH, U., DEMONET, J.F., FAZIO, F., PERANI, D., PRICE, C., FRITH, C.D., PAULESU, E. (2005), «Brain abnormalities underlying altered activation in dyslexia: A voxel based morphometry study», in Brain, 128, pp. 2453-2461.

VLACHOS, Filippos, ANDREOU, Eleni, DELLIOU, Afroditi, AGAPITOU, Paraskevi (2013), «Dyslexia and hand preference in secondary school students», in Psychology & Neuroscience, 6(1) pp. 67-72.

WHITEHOUSE, Andrew J.O., BISHOP, Dorothy V.M. (2008), «Cerebral dominance for laguage function in adults with specific language impairment or autism», in Brain, 131, pp. 3193-3200.

Published
2018-01-23
How to Cite
Bucca, A. (2018) “Dominanza manuale, disturbi del linguaggio e difficoltà di apprendimento della L2 / Manual dominance, language disorders and L2 learning difficulties”, Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio, 00. Available at: http://rifl.unical.it/index.php/rifl/article/view/444 (Accessed: 28March2024).