The relation of hair whorls to brain development

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by maxg, Sep 15, 2007.

  1. hanfusa Registered Member

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    Hi, I work with children with Autism and most of them have a double crowns. Has anyone ever noticed this before. It worries me because I have never seen so much children with double crowns having the same condition. In fact before working here I had never seen anyone with a double crown.
     
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  3. Grandma Registered Member

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    I recently took a newborn assessment class and they were talking about the hair whorl placement. When I inquired what it meant if a child had 2 it led me to the internet and this thread. My grand daughter has 2, rotating in opposite directions. I was BLOWN away to read how many children with this are diagnosed with hypotonia. She too has mild hypotonia; spit up A LOT, sat up late, didn't walk until she was 21 months. Her speech seems to be fine, she is very happy and social. The only other fact I can contribute is prenatally her fetal monitoring tracings were NEVER very reactive. She was monitored all the time b/c her mother had low platelets. A decrease in variability is a reflection of CNS development...I'm interested to hear how your children are now, 3 and 4 years after your post.
    Thank you for posting on this topic.
     
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  5. Ilah Registered Member

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    This is all very very interesting. I was trying to look into my (8yr old)son's swirls. He has 3 in total. The normal one in the normal position swirling outwards, one more forward just a tad smaller but the 3rd one ... right at the very front of his head about 3cms from his hairline on his forehead but it swirls inward. When his hair is the right length, all the hairs cross over in the middle to form a star. Its pretty cool.
    He has no learning difficulties whatsoever, infact he's rather gifted, very very very swtiched on, crazy intuition and totally loves science. He does have issues with concentration but I think he just gets bored. His brain never seems to stop ... neither does his talking lol. He's full on. His brother (5yrs old) has had fluid on the brain since birth, delayed almost everything, he can be impossible to get through to at times, his head is sooooo far away. But he has the most incredible yet random memory Ive ever come across, he can and frequently does freak people out with his memory.

    So this has been very very interesting to say the least ... Thanks to all for their contribution.

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  7. drtom Registered Member

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    Warning, Will Robinson, Warning!

    I am double crowned, which is to say, I have both a clockwise and a counterclockwise whorl. One of my brothers has a similar pattern. I have two siblings who are left-handed, and my mother was trained not to use her left hand by her Central European grandparents, so I suspect she is a genetic lefty.

    Five family members qualified to skip the fourth grade, although only two elected to do so. Two could read before even starting school. My uncle is an active member of Mensa. I ranked in the top one-half percent of college-bound seniors on my college entrance exams. In the eighth grade I read on a college level and scored higher than my teacher in vocabulary and read at a rate of over 800 words per minute. I do not have a number for my IQ, I was told that "it is over 145."

    While it is very interesting to observe patterns between ability and hair whorls or other physical attributes, one should keep in mind that these are not 100% concordant, and that there are multiple influences on development and ability. Imagine a world where people are screened at birth for double hair whorls and relegated to institutions based on the findings of the expert screener. According to what some people have written here and the stock they have placed in such patterns, there is definitely a need to exercise caution.

    Thank you.
     
    Bowser likes this.
  8. Telemachus Rex Protesting Mod Stupidity Registered Senior Member

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    I'm in the same boat. The shape of the exterior of the skull clearly has nothing to do with brain development, as the phrenologists taught us by negative example, but the placement of follicles in the dermis on the skull reveals vital clues about the brain and its development? Color me skeptical until science has done a little more work on this one (or, if I am just ignorant of all the science out there, until someone points me in its direction).
     
  9. spandan Registered Member

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    i have 4 hair whorls...one anticlockwise...other 3 clockwise
     
  10. RichW9090 Evolutionist Registered Senior Member

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    A quick perusal of the literature suggests, as I was sure it would, that there is absolutely no relationship between pelage patterns and brain developemnt in any animal, let alone humans.

    Believing that there is such a relationship is the same as believing in Phrenology, the idea that bumps of the skull can be used to characterize the personality of the person. Popular in the late 1800s, it is rejected, and has been for 100 years, as anything other than voodoo science today.

    Rich
     
  11. lana22 Registered Member

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    This is so interesting! I have a younger brother who has a double crown and has so many similarities with those mentioned here! He didnt start talking until very late, dont know how old exactly but was definately at least 2. That appears to be his only developmental problem however he is now 5 and a total genius! At 3 he could count to over 100 (for most kids its amazing if they can count to 10 before age 5) and he could also read very early. At 4 he could write storys and read adult books and when he came across a word he hadnt seen before he sounded it out and got it right 80% of the time. His memory is incredible, when I get dressed he tells me all the places Ive worn that particular item of clothing (even from years back!) and I wouldnt even know that! My stepmum (his mother) links it all to autism, including the double crown. Im a student nurse and through my studies I am sure he does NOT have autism! He does have some unusal traits, such as an obsession with the TV and can easily get stressed when things arent perfect or straight, and tends to throw tantrums when things dont go his way, but personally I believe most kids are like this and really its down to the indivual person and parenting! Also, antisocial behaviour and inability to communicate are linked to autism but my brother is the most bubbly, friendly, kind little boy and has loads of friends so therefore autism is out. But I definately agree with those who suggest intelligence and excellent memory is linked to the double crown!! lucky lucky!! (except when it comes to hair styling, its difficult, cant grow it too long because whoa it sticks up and out in all directions!)
     
  12. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    11,888
    I have 3 whorls, each whorl looks like the number 6. They radiate outward from a central point. This is interesting stuff - but I will have to check in later I am late for the One World Govement think tank I am leading.
     
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  13. crosman Registered Member

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    Our experience

    I came across this forum by accident but have found it an interesting read. I thought I'd share our experience since my daughter (who is now 7) has had many similar experiences as some of you with younger children. My daughter also has a double hair whorl and is a leftie. We knew this as early as 2 months of age. She had right-sided hemiparesis (of unknown etiology) until she was about 3. It has decreased markedly due to intense PT, OT, etc. She also has had significant hypotonia all over except her face which was very tight as a child. All milestones were late but achieved. She was also a late talker but was just fine with receptive language and she used sign language so well that we had to stop it - she wouldn't speak while using it! Also, like others, she's showed some general motor planning problems and weakness/fatigue with her muscles. She's also prone to infections alas.

    However, my daughter is at least average - likely above average - in intelligence. We've not had her tested yet but she's in a challenging private school and doing very well. Indeed, her intelligence has made a diagnosis difficult, at least from a genetics standpoint. Her memory is astonishing. She's also very musical (which I noticed from other posters) and has the ability to sight read, adapt music from one instrument to another, and writes her own compositions now. She reads easily etc.

    So, for those of you who continue to bounce from doctor to doctor without diagnosis, there is hope! I've gotten to the stage where we manage her care (she still has all therapies) but it keeps her going and she's completely integrated into school. She just tires more easily than others and cannot run as fast. We also would love a diagnosis to be sure we're not missing something that will pop up later on that we could head off a bit now. Other than that, she's an amazing girl although I suspect she's going to hate those hair whorls when she's older!

    Best to you all.

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  14. Buckaroo Banzai Mentat Registered Senior Member

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    I don't really know much of the subject, but I've read just some very superficial things (news reports/press releases) that may be related with that. Such as apparently left handed people and homosexual people (or perhaps specifically male homosexuals) tend to have something related with a different hair whirl too. Also several congenital conditions that are related with deficits or differences in cognitive abilities are related with more or less subtle patterns of differences in facial traits. Trisomy of the chromosome 21 is a common example of a more evident case, but there are other ones that are more subtle. One that is a little bit subtle is fetal alcohol syndrome, but another one that was just recently found was autism itself, which is far from obviously correlated with a pattern of physiognomical differences.

    In any case, I guess that rarely this observation alone would suffice for diagnostic, it would only be some sort of "warning sign" for further observation or even medical exams.
     
  15. hairdresser101 Registered Member

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    All "whorls" are not double crowns

    Not all "whorls" are considered a double crown. Some ARE, in fact, just simply cowlicks. I've never seen anyone with more than TWO crowns. Granted, it could be I just haven't *seen* it and doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I have just one crown, I can write with both my write and left hand. I prefer to write right-handed while I do most other day-to-day tasks with my left hand. I mostly registered here just to say what my first statement said and that's that not all "whorls" are considered crowns. They are simply cowlicks.
     
  16. hairdresser101 Registered Member

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    That should say I can write with both my RIGHT and left hand.
     
  17. Aqueous Id flat Earth skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    :roflmao:
     
  18. brie Registered Member

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    Making connections

    I came across this on accident, but as I read through some of the thread I did notice a pattern.

    I hope by now (after 5 years) maxg that you have gotten the answer to you're question.

    I have 2 whorls (larger on the left, smaller on the right), also a couple cowlicks. They are different.
    Re: the original question.

    Although neither I nor any medical professional ever considered the pattern of my hair growth a problem or connected it to any of the below; everything listed is connected to each other.
    Genetically I have a dominant curly gene and a dominant straight gene.
    I am the only left handed person I am aware of in my family. (Most likely a recessive gene.)
    As a child I had delays in speech and motor skills. I was a late walker and didn't talk until I was almost 3 years old. I had a speech impediment that I slowly grew out of. I also had difficulty learning to read and write due in part to dyslexia and was in special education classes in elementary school as a result.
    I have aspergers. (On the autism spectrum.)
    As an adult I have an above average IQ. (Could qualify for mensa.)
    I did not see this, but the thread is long. Before I started to talk I had migraines severe enough that the there were concerns about damage to my vision and/or paralysis. I developed amblyopia (lazy eye) in my left eye that couldn't be corrected.
    I am a kinesthetic learner and to this day still have difficulty with auditory processing. I am also hard of hearing in my left ear.
     
  19. fie Registered Member

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    OHHHHHHH. Now I get it.
     
  20. karthik1890 Registered Member

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    Hair swirl / Cow licks

    I am a male and I have hair swirl / cow licks from my birth nearly 12 in count. The first thing is all swirls at the top of my for head formed in 'u' shaped pattern starting from left of my forehead and goes backward and again comes to front forehead at rightside. Many problems i have faced due to such a thing that makes my look so ugly. Many use to critise me and make fun of me due to my hair even my family members too. Nowadays after meeting new peoples i haven't expressed or ressembled the hair problem. But hair does have a fine shape and length all thought i tried many products like hair gel and sprays enough i can't get rid of it but to manage my hair like others. Alast even though i manage im unable with stand my hairs for long hours leaving as combed for long time. Everyday i have to take head bath for twice a day for keeping it wet and for managable. So i prefered for bald head most of the times.
    The second most thing is mental related problems. As a proverb says "face is the index of mind" as such my mental ability and development are little quite slower. Manythings i missed in my life time unreasonably since due to hair swirl and ugly style i cant go in front of the people socialy. Because people first look goes against my hair so that they make ridiculus and makes fun. I want it to be changed. I have came across many information sites about hair swirl or cowlicks as such nothing suits my problem. So some please help me for this problem. Someone kindly reffer some genetical researchers as i don't know how to proceed with such a ridiculous thing. As for Gods grace i will be thank full for you. Since i haven't shared so many problems openly that i'm facing in reality including my family.
    Please someone help me as amoung the whole worlds population i can guess 0.01% aprox. of people might having this kind of genetical problems.
     
  21. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    11,888
    Whorls are a result of the orientation of the hair folicles - you are not going to be able to change that. Here is what you should do:

    1. Wear a hat.
    2. Shave your head.
    3. Wear a wig.
    4. Better yet just realize that this is only a problem in your head, not on your head. You are making a big deal out of this. Nobody cares nearly as much about this as you do. You are wasting your time worrying about it. There are probably 20 bald guys reading about 'your problem' and wishing they could have your problem.
     
  22. razaziem Registered Member

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    Oh my god you americans are so stupid. Panicking around over small matters. It just a hair whorl it is nothing different with people having big eyes or small eyes.

    I HAVE DOUBLE HAIR WHORL!!!
    And I am currently a pilot. Theres nothing genetically wrong with me and as long as I can remember I never had mental illnesss mental problem or any other shit. I always excel in class and sport. For God sake I fly with approximately 300 lives on my hand.

    I dont know if Sara's parent reading this or not. Its 2015 they post this about 3,4,5 years ago but if you are reading this and to everyone else. Theres nothing problem with hair whorl I know Im living it and my life is awesome.

    It just a pattern on your head for your hair to grow. Its nothing to do with thd brain. Just accept God's creation He create something for a reason dont be stupid over small matter like this. Man you can think about it logically.

    I AM A PILOT AND I HAVE DOUBLE HAIR WHORL.
    Oh just for info I am a airlines pilot so remember hair whorl has nothing to do with then brains or fucking reaction or ehat so ever.
     
  23. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    11,888
    How do you know the stupid people that wrote this were from the US? They may be from Malaysia for all you know.
     

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