Lateralization of mother-infant interactions in a diverse range of mammal species

Karina Karenina; Andrey Giljov; Janeane Ingram; Victoria J Rowntree; Yegor Malashichev

doi:10.1038/s41559-016-0030

Lateralization of mother-infant interactions in a diverse range of mammal species

Nat Ecol Evol. 2017 Jan 9;1(2):30. doi: 10.1038/s41559-016-0030.

Authors

Karina Karenina^{1

2}, Andrey Giljov^{1

2}, Janeane Ingram³, Victoria J Rowntree⁴, Yegor Malashichev^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia.
² These authors contributed equally to this work.
³ Geography and Spatial Science Discipline, School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
⁴ Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
⁵ Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Ecological Physiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg 197376, Russia.

PMID: 28812615
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-016-0030

Abstract

Left-cradling bias is a distinctive feature of maternal behaviour in humans and great apes, but its evolutionary origin remains unknown. In 11 species of marine and terrestrial mammal, we demonstrate consistent patterns of lateralization in mother-infant interactions, indicating right hemisphere dominance for social processing. In providing clear evidence that lateralized positioning is beneficial in mother-infant interactions, our results illustrate a significant impact of lateralization on individual fitness.