SALIVARY TESTOSTERONE LEVELS IN LEFT AND RIGHT-HANDED ADULTS

It has been proposed that prenatal testosterone (T) may contribute to the development of hand preference and cerebral functional asymmetry i n humans. To investigate any persisting association between T and asym metry in adulthood, left-handed (LH) and right-handed (RH) men and wom en were administered a hand preference questionnaire and the Fused Dic hotic Words Test. Testosterone was measured in samples of saliva. Resu lts showed that LH subjects of both sexes had lower salivary T concent rations than their RH counterparts. Among LH males, subjects with a ri ght-ear advantage in dichotic listening tended to have lower T concent rations than subjects with a left-ear advantage. These results are con sistent with the notion that T may be involved in the development of h and preference and cerebral functional asymmetry.