Asymmetries in Spontaneous Head Orientation in Infant Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Behavioral laterality in head orientation while sleeping in either a supine or prone posture was examined in 43 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) for the first 3 months of life. An overall significant right-side lateral bias was found for head orientation in the supine posture. A trend toward greater right-side bias in females compared with males was observed but failed to reach significance. These data suggest that asymmetries in head orientation are present early in life in chimpanzees, and they may be correlated with functional asymmetries observed in adulthood.