Relevance to human evolution
It has been calculated that 11X transposed from the X to Y chromosome around three million years ago, perhaps coincident with the evolutionary expansion of human brain size and the first use of stone tools. A new intron and inversion also occurred in the 11Y around 120,000 to 200,000 years ago, coincident with the period of modern human expansion out of Africa (from which all non-African humans descend) and the onset of anthropologically modern culture termed behavioral modernity.[5]
British psychiatrist Tim Crow, who worked on the evolution of human psychiatric disease such as schizophrenia, proposed the gene is a major contributor to lateralisation, which he believed underlies human cognitive abilities. Humans are a strong outlier in brain lateralisation among primates, which among other effects gives rise to our relatively unique handedness trait.[6] Further, there is a substantial bias towards right-handedness in all modern humans as compared to chimpanzees: 90% of humans will use their right hands for minor motor tasks, whereas chimpanzees display no preference.[3] Crow suggested this precludes a random or cultural origin for right-preference, adding that true ambidexterity is associated with developmental delay and psychosis.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000099715 – Ensembl, May 2017
- ↑ "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- 1 2 3 "Science and Technology: The genetics of lateralisation". The Economist. 26 April 2001.
- ↑ Wilson ND, Ross LJ, Close J, Mott R, Crow TJ, Volpi EV (2007). "Replication profile of PCDH11X and PCDH11Y, a gene pair located in the non-pseudoautosomal homologous region Xq21.3/Yp11.2". Chromosome Research. 15 (4): 485–498. doi:10.1007/s10577-007-1153-y. PMC 2779385. PMID 17671842.
- 1 2 Burne J (18 August 2001). "Y and Mighty". the Guardian. The Guardian.
- ↑ Püschel TA, Hurwitz RM, Venditti C (April 2026). "Bipedalism and brain expansion explain human handedness". PLoS Biology. 24 (4) e3003771. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003771. PMC 13138751. PMID 42044164.
- ↑ "Why having it both ways is bad for you". The Guardian. 1999-07-20. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
