A new study by researchers at universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh reveals that children with more symmetrical hands are smarter than others and such kids are said to be able to react more quickly in mental tests.
The study, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, says that this even holds true after accounting for age and gender differences. The study involved health data from 856 children aged between 4 and 15 years. Researchers recorded hand symmetry of the participants using digital scanners while their mental capabilities were gauged using a computer-based test.
Professor Ian Deary, Director of the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, who led the research project, said that the connection between physical symmetry and reaction times could be an important clue to health and well-being over a person’s life course. This finding can shed light on how the mind and the body develop together from childhood to older age.
Scientists believe that bodily symmetry could be a sign of biological fitness and it has already been linked to health and multiple measures of well-being. Earlier studies have indicated that reaction times are important markers of health of a person and reaction times speed up significantly as children approach adulthood, only to slow down when approaching older age.
Dr David Hope, Centre for Medical Education at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This finding links cognitive ability and health very early in the life course – even before school age physical actions are connected with a person’s body then reflected in mental function.”
There have been previous studies that have linked body symmetry with brain power in old age, wherein it was found that men with symmetrical faces are less likely to experience a slow down of brain power in later life. The latest study suggests that hand symmetry is more or less a marker that suggests a connection between bodily symmetry and mental capabilities.
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hi my son has completely different hands, one is black the other is white. does this mean he is stupid?
Definitely
The only problem is many people with autistic spectrum disorders have non-symmetrical features, and yet many can be quite intelligent as the ASD can actually help with the intelligence, but it can alter the symmetry because of the defect in the DNA.