May 2, 2011

Left handed people are more affected by fear

Psychologists found that people who watched an eight minute clip from a scary movie suffered more symptoms associated with post traumatic stress if they were left handed than if they were right handed.

When asked to recall events from the film clip, taken from near the tense climax of thriller Silence of the Lambs, left handed volunteers gave more fragmented accounts filled with more repetition than their right handed counterparts.

This effect is common in people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The scientists now believe their results could provide new insights into how people develop post traumatic stress and the way the brain deals with fear.

Dr Carolyn Choudhary, who led the research at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, said: “The prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder is almost double in left handers compared to right handers.

Read more at The Telegraph

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