Handedness in musicians.

: In order to study the prevalence of left- or mixed-handedness in musicians, we decided to examine a population of professional musicians. We assessed the handedness pattern of 382 members of 7 orchestras. The prevalence of non-right-handedness in musicians was found to be much the same as in the general population. Similar results emerged from a study of young music school pupils. We conclude that brain structural tomographic imaging should ideally be performed, and the pattern of cerebral asymmetry analysed in order to assess cerebral lateralization in musicians.