Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site duke.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!mcnc!duke!jhs From: jhs@duke.UUCP (Joel Saltz) Newsgroups: net.bio,net.women Subject: Re: Left vs right brains Message-ID: <5754@duke.UUCP> Date: Thu, 18-Apr-85 02:24:55 EST Article-I.D.: duke.5754 Posted: Thu Apr 18 02:24:55 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 21-Apr-85 01:43:35 EST References: <1649@decwrl.UUCP> <1649@ittvax.UUCP> Reply-To: jhs@duke.UUCP (Joel Saltz) Distribution: net Organization: Duke University Lines: 32 Xref: linus net.bio:34 net.women:4277 In article thau@h-sc1.UUCP (robert thau) writes: >> > Does anyone know why (historically and currently) women's shirts button >> > right over left and men's button left over right (or is it vice versa)? >> > Why make the thing differently depending on who is supposed to wear it? >> >> A possible explanation comes from the biology of the brain. >> >> The human brain is functionally divided into two lateral parts... >> >> Statistically, most WOMEN are RIGHT-BRAINED (ie. the right part of >> their brain is more developed than the left part), while most >> MEN are LEFT-BRAINED... > >Handedness seems to me to be a lot more relevant that 'brainedness' >(whatever that means), and a majority of both sexes are right-handed. > The meaning of 'more developed' in the above quote is not clear. In addition to the fact that most people are right handed, most people are left brained with respect to language in the sense that if the language areas in the left hemisphere are injured, recovery is slow and incomplete. If the analogous areas in the right hemisphere are injured, recovery is much faster and more complete. The sex difference in language dominance, if it exists, is small. The neurological differences between males and females is much more subtle (and less well understood, certainly by me and Im pretty sure by people who study these things). Joel Saltz Duke School of Medicine & Comp Sci