Handedness in post-traumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis

Jette Borawski; Marietta Papadatou-Pastou; Julian Packheiser; Sebastian Ocklenburg

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105009

Handedness in post-traumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023 Feb:145:105009. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105009. Epub 2022 Dec 19.

Authors

Jette Borawski¹, Marietta Papadatou-Pastou², Julian Packheiser³, Sebastian Ocklenburg⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
² School of Education, Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; BioMedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece.
³ Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: sebastian.ocklenburg@medicalschool-hamburg.de.

PMID: 36549376
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105009

Abstract

The main objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate handedness in post-traumatic stress disorder on a meta-analytical level. For this purpose, articles were identified via a search in PubMed, PsychInfo, PubPsych, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar. Studies reporting findings relating to handedness in PTSD patients and healthy controls were considered eligible. In total, k = 14 studies with an overall N of 2939 (747 PTSD patients and 2192 controls) were included in the study. Random-effects meta-analyses, as well as robust Bayes meta-analyses (RoBMA), were conducted for three comparisons: (a) non-right-handedness, (b) left-handedness, and (c) mixed-handedness. Results showed significantly higher frequencies of non-right-handedness (odds ratio = 1.81) and mixed-handedness (odds ratio = 2.42) in PTSD patients compared to controls. No differences were found for left-handedness. This specific effect of mixed-handedness is in line with findings for other disorders, such as schizophrenia. Future studies should investigate common neurodevelopmental origins for the relationship between mixed-handedness and psychopathology and aim at investigating both handedness direction and handedness strength.

Keywords: Handedness; Hemispheric asymmetry; Laterality; Lateralization; PTSD; Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bayes Theorem
Functional Laterality
Humans
Odds Ratio
Schizophrenia*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*