Authors: Beshkov Asen, Kotetarov Vasil, Akabalieva Katerina, Sivkov Stefan, Akabaliev Valentin.
Objective: The aim was to investigate left foot dominance as a biological marker of neurodevelopmental disorder in schizophrenia.
Material and methods: The Chapman & Chapman Foot Dominance Scale, administered as performance assessments, not as preference questionnaire, was assessed in a sample of 180 subjects (98 schizophrenic patients and 82 controls). Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), non-parametric and cluster analyses were used to analyze the data.
Results: Left foot dominance was significantly higher in schizophrenic patients in comparison to control subjects. Conclusion: As hand dominance is influenced by cultural factors, footedness might be a better-suited candidate biomarker for motor brain lateralization. We propose foot dominance as a useful, reliable, and more culturally independent indicator of brain lateralization.
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