首次發(fā)現(xiàn)了與左撇子有關(guān)的基因和大腦差異

首次發(fā)現(xiàn)了與左撇子有關(guān)的基因和大腦差異

For the first time, researchers have been able to highlight specific gene regions that appear to have some influence over left-handedness – and they've also found links to differences in brain structure in those who have these genetic variations, too.

研究人員首次強調(diào)了似乎對左撇子有一定影響的特定基因區(qū)域，他們還發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些基因變異與左撇子大腦結(jié)構(gòu)的差異有關(guān)。

It's already been established that whether we're right- or left-handed depends to some extent – around 25 percent – on the genetic code we're born with, but until now scientists hadn't been able to identify the specific areas on the genome responsible.

已經(jīng)確定的是，我們是右撇子還是左撇子，在某種程度上取決于我們出生時的遺傳密碼，大約25%，但直到現(xiàn)在，科學(xué)家還無法確定基因組上的特定區(qū)域。

This new study of around 400,000 individual records in a national UK database goes a long way to doing just that: it found four genetic regions associated with handedness, and three of those were linked to proteins involved in the brain's structure and development.

這項對英國國家數(shù)據(jù)庫中約40萬條個體記錄的新研究，在這方面走了很長一段路:它發(fā)現(xiàn)了與利手性有關(guān)的四個基因區(qū)域，其中三個與大腦結(jié)構(gòu)和發(fā)育相關(guān)的蛋白質(zhì)有關(guān)。

These proteins relate to the cytoskeleton, the scaffolding inside cells that's responsible for their construction and function.

這些蛋白質(zhì)與細胞骨架有關(guān)，細胞骨架是細胞內(nèi)部的支架，負責(zé)細胞的結(jié)構(gòu)和功能。

With the help of brain scans of around 10,000 of the participants, the researchers linked the genetic variations with white matter tracts running between language-processing regions. These white matter tracts contain the cytoskeleton of the brain.

在對大約1萬名參與者的腦部掃描的幫助下，研究人員將基因變異與語言處理區(qū)域之間的白質(zhì)束聯(lián)系起來。這些白質(zhì)束含有大腦的細胞骨架。

"Many researchers have studied the biological basis of handedness, but using large datasets from UK Biobank has allowed us to shed considerably more light on the processes leading to left-handedness," says physician Akira Wiberg.

醫(yī)生Akira Wiberg說:“許多研究人員已經(jīng)研究了左撇子的生物學(xué)基礎(chǔ)，但是使用來自英國生物銀行的大型數(shù)據(jù)集讓我們對導(dǎo)致左撇子的過程有了更多的了解。”

"We discovered that, in left-handed participants, the language areas of the left and right sides of the brain communicate with each other in a more coordinated way."

“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在左撇子參與者中，左右腦的語言區(qū)域以一種更協(xié)調(diào)的方式相互交流。”

That means left handers might have an advantage when it comes to verbal tasks and language skills, Wiberg suggests, though the evidence for that isn't conclusive.

威伯格認為，這意味著左撇子在語言任務(wù)和語言技能方面可能具有優(yōu)勢，盡管這方面的證據(jù)還沒有定論。

Humans are pretty unique as far as the animal kingdom goes in having such an imbalance between those of us who are left-handed and those of us who are right-handed – it's about a 10-90 percent split.

就動物王國里左撇子和右撇子之間的不平衡而言，人類是非常獨特的——大約有10- 90%的人是左撇子。

And we know from other animals that cytoskeletal differences – like the coil of a snail's shell – can be influenced by genetics from very early on. The "hallmarks of the future development of handedness" might develop in the womb, the researchers say, though that's only a possibility for now.

我們從其他動物身上了解到，細胞骨架的差異——比如蝸牛殼的螺旋——可以從很早的時候就受到基因的影響。研究人員說，“利手性未來發(fā)展的特征”可能會在子宮中形成，盡管目前這只是一種可能性。

While it's still too early to call this a conclusive link between these genes and whether we're left or right-handed, what the research does do is highlight significant associations between the two that further studies can build on.

雖然把這些基因和我們是左撇子還是右撇子聯(lián)系起來還為時過早，但這項研究確實強調(diào)了這兩者之間的重要聯(lián)系，這可以作為進一步研究的基礎(chǔ)。

We're finally beginning to make sense of the genetic coding that helps to influence which hand becomes dominant.

我們終于開始理解影響哪只手占優(yōu)勢的基因編碼。

It might also help dispel any lingering opinions that being left-handed is somehow unlucky or inferior to being right-handed.

這也可能有助于消除任何揮之不去的觀點，即左撇子在某種程度上是不幸運的，或者不如右撇子。

"Here we have demonstrated that left-handedness is a consequence of the developmental biology of the brain, in part driven by the complex interplay of many genes," says one of the team, Dominic Furniss, a plastic surgeon who researches molecular genetics.

研究小組成員之一、研究分子遺傳學(xué)的整形外科醫(yī)生多米尼克弗尼斯(Dominic Furniss)表示:“我們已經(jīng)證明，左撇子是大腦發(fā)育生物學(xué)的一個結(jié)果，部分原因是許多基因的復(fù)雜相互作用。”

"It is part of the rich tapestry of what makes us human."

“這是使我們成為人類的豐富多彩的一部分。”

The research has been published in Brain.

這項研究發(fā)表在《大腦》雜志上。