Many DES Daughters more likely to be left handed for writing
2000 Study Abstract
Hand preferences and language lateralization were assessed in women exposed prenatally to the synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES), and in their unexposed sisters.
Language lateralization and handedness in women prenatally exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES), US National Library of Medicine, Psychoneuroendocrinology, NCBI PubMed PMID: 10818283, 2000 Jul.
Image credit amymememe.
The DES-exposed women showed an increased degree of hand preference (regardless of direction) and were more likely to be left handed for writing. However, the groups did not differ significantly on a dichotic listening measure of language lateralization.
Perhaps as a result of the alterations in hand preferences, the typical relationship between hand preferences and language lateralization was disrupted in the DES-exposed group. Also, within the DES-exposed group, exposure early in gestation correlated with left handedness whereas exposure late in gestation correlated with reduced left ear (right hemisphere) scores on the verbal dichotic task.
Results are discussed in terms of theoretical perspectives predicting hormonal influences on sexual differentiation of hemispheric asymmetry and in terms of separate critical periods for hormonal effects on individual sexually differentiated characteristics.
More DES DiEthylStilbestrol Resources
- Other studies on DES and psychological health.
- Diethylstilbestrol DES studies by topics.