Hand preference is selectively related to common and internal carotid arterial asymmetry

ABSTRACTThis study documents relationships between handedness and carotid arterial asymmetries. The article is divided into two sections, considering first geometric (n = 195) and then haemodynamic (n = 228) asymmetries. In the geometric study, diameters, lengths, and angles of the common carotid arteries in left and right-handed participants were measured using computed tomography angiography scans. Resistance to blood flow was calculated according to Poiseuille’s formula. In the haemodynamic study, peak systolic and end-diastolic velocity, vessel diameter, and volume flow rate of the common, internal, and external carotid arteries were measured in left and right-handed participants, using Doppler ultrasonography. The findings reveal for the first time that the extracranial arteries supplying the cerebral hemispheres are asymmetrical in a direction that increases blood flow to the hemisphere dominant for handedness. Significant handedness interactions were identified in arterial length, diameter, resista...