Crossed hand-eye dominance in male psychiatric patients.

Increased incidence of left-eye and crossed hand-eye dominance have been considered as indicating left hemispheric dysfunction in many neuropsychiatric disorders. This study investigates the incidence of left-eye and crossed hand-eye dominance in patience with schizophrenia (n = 68), panic disorder (n = 62), personality disorder (n = 35), heroin addiction (n = 54), and mental retardation (n = 33), in comparison with controls (n = 944). All psychiatric groups, except the group with panic disorder, had significantly greater frequency of left-eye dominance than the control group. Furthermore, all psychiatric groups, except the personality-disordered group, had significantly greater frequency of crossed hand-eye dominance than the control group. These findings further support the evidence of an anomaly in hemispheric lateralization among different psychiatric populations, particularly among those with psychotic symptoms and cognitive deficits.