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Left-handers better at sport and thinking
Last updated at 17:37pm on 05.12.06
Many great sportspeople, including Martina Navratilova, have been left-handed
Left-handed people can think quicker and tend to be better at sport, according to new research.
They are also better at multitasking and performing complicated jobs than right-handers.
Scientists in Australia found that connections between the left and right sides of the brain are faster in left-handers, making them more adept at handling several stimuli.
The study, in Neuropsychology, revealed that left-handers are better suited to difficult jobs such as piloting a jet fighter. It may explain the success of so many great sportspeople, including tennis star Martina Navratilova, footballer Diego Maradona and Sir Garfield Sobers - often described as the world's best cricketer.
Dr Nick Cherbuin, a right-hander, who led the research, said lefthanders' brains tend to be more symmetrical with larger and more efficient connections between the two hemispheres, which allows information to pass more easily.
