'Bottle-fed infants more likely to be left-handed'

Washington D.C. [USA], Jan 8 (ANI): Children who are breast-fed are more likely to be right-handed whereas bottle feeding is linked to left-handedness.
These are the findings of a University of Washington study, which appears in the journal Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition.
The result was identified in about 60,000 mother-infant pairs and accounted for known risk factors for handedness.
The findings provide further insight into the development of complex brain functions which ultimately determine which side of the batter box the infant likely will choose.
"We think breastfeeding optimises the process the brain undergoes when solidifying handedness," said Philippe Hujoel, the study's author. "That's important because it provides an independent line of evidence that breastfeeding may need to last six to nine months," she added.
The study does not imply, however, that breastfeeding leads to right-handedness, Hujoel said. Handedness, whether it is right- or left-handed, is set early in foetal life and is at least partially determined by genetics.
The research does shed light on when the region of the brain that controls handedness localises to one side of the brain, a process known as brain lateralisation. Possibly, the research shows, breastfeeding optimises this lateralisation towards becoming right- or left-handed. (ANI)