Like most aspects of human traits, handedness is complex and appears to be influenced by multiple factors, including genetics and environment.

Handedness, or hand preference, is the tendency to be more skilled and comfortable using one hand instead of the other for tasks such as writing and throwing a ball. Although the percentage varies worldwide, in Western countries, 85 to 90 percent of people are right-handed and 10 to 15 percent of people are left-handed. Mixed-handedness (preferring different hands for different tasks) and ambidextrousness (the ability to perform tasks equally well with either hand) are uncommon.

Hand preference becomes increasingly apparent in early childhood and tends to be consistent throughout life. However, little is known about its biological basis. Hand preference probably arises as part of the developmental process that differentiates the right and left sides of the body (called right-left asymmetry). More specifically, handedness appears to be related to differences between the right and left halves (hemispheres) of the brain. The right hemisphere controls movement on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls movement on the right side of the body.

It was initially thought that a single gene controlled handedness. However, more recent studies suggest that multiple genes, perhaps up to 40, contribute to this trait. Each of these genes likely has a weak effect by itself, but together they play a significant role in establishing hand preference. Studies suggest that at least some of these genes help determine the overall right-left asymmetry of the body starting in the earliest stages of development. So far, researchers have identified only a few of the many genes thought to influence handedness. Studies suggest that other factors also contribute to handedness. The prenatal environment and cultural influences may play a role. 

Like many complex traits, handedness does not have a simple pattern of inheritance. Children of left-handed parents are more likely to be left-handed than are children of right-handed parents. However, because the overall chance of being left-handed is relatively low, most children of left-handed parents are right-handed. Identical twins are more likely than non-identical twins (or other siblings) to both be right-handed or left-handed, but many twins have opposite hand preferences.

Scientific journal articles for further reading

de Kovel CGF, Francks C. The molecular genetics of hand preference revisited. Sci Rep. 2019 Apr 12;9(1):5986. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-42515-0. PubMed: 30980028; Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC6461639.

Pfeifer LS, Schmitz J, Papadatou-Pastou M, Peterburs J, Paracchini S, Ocklenburg S. Handedness in twins: meta-analyses. BMC Psychol. 2022 Jan 15;10(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40359-021-00695-3. PMID: 35033205. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC8760823.

Richards G, Segal NL. Handedness in twins reared apart: A review of the literature and new data. Neuropsychologia. 2023 Jun 6;184:108523. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108523. Epub 2023 Apr 12. PMID: 37059260.

Schijven D, Soheili-Nezhad S, Fisher SE, Francks C. Exome-wide analysis implicates rare protein-altering variants in human handedness. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 2;15(1):2632. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46277-w. PMID: 38565598. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC10987538.

Sha Z, Pepe A, Schijven D, Carrión-Castillo A, Roe JM, Westerhausen R, Joliot M, Fisher SE, Crivello F, Francks C. Handedness and its genetic influences are associated with structural asymmetries of the cerebral cortex in 31,864 individuals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Nov 23;118(47):e2113095118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2113095118. PMID: 34785596. Free full-text available from PubMed Central: PMC8617418.