Left-hand preference in frightened mother monkeys in taking up their babies

Neuropsychologia. 1991;29(2):207-9. doi: 10.1016/0028-3932(91)90022-z.

Abstract

The hand preference of mother monkeys taking up their babies in an emergency situation was investigated. When a relaxed mother monkey was frightened, the hand used to take up a baby and flee was monitored with eight pairs of Old World Monkeys of three different species. Each mother-child pair was given 17-32 trials, all mothers showed a left-hand preference in this behavior.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arousal*
  • Fear
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality*
  • Macaca / psychology*
  • Maternal Behavior*
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Species Specificity