On the matter of brain hemispheres It is common to hear some phrases like these: “If you are a person with great creativity, you use the right hemisphere much more” O well “If you are an analytical person, you use the left hemisphere more”… However, everything related to these two parts of the brain is much more complicated than these simplifications.
In this article we will see what the cerebral hemispheres are, what their characteristics are, and how they differ, taking into account that these components of the central nervous system allow us to understand a good part of what happens in our brain, since they determine the functioning of this brain. .
Brain hemispheres: what are they and how do they work?
When observing a human brain, one of the things that draws the most attention is that kind of crack that separates the two halves of it and that goes from the front to the back.
Its existence is not causal, and it gives clues about how the brain works, a set of organs in which An attempt is made to ensure that the cerebral cortex (the outermost part of the brain, with rugae) occupies the greatest possible area Thus, the existence of the cerebral hemispheres allows more cerebral cortex to extend between them.
Why has our brain evolved to place so much importance on the cerebral cortex? This is because it is in the cerebral cortex where most of the neuron bodies are concentrated, that is, its most important part, where the nucleus is located. The grouping of neuronal bodies forms what is known as gray matter, associated with complex brain activity.
In recent years, a multitude of courses, tests, e-books and books have emerged on social networks that explain “the big differences between using one or the other hemisphere of the brain”, and even tips and exercises to achieve better perfect balance (sic) between both hemispheres.
However, it is worth considering: Is it true that we tend to use one hemisphere more than the other? Is this conception that each hemisphere performs differentiated functions accurate? To answer these questions, we must know what the cerebral hemispheres are, even if it is based on a basic definition.
Anatomy of these hemispheres of the brain
The cerebral hemispheres are the two structures into which the brain is divided, and are separated from each other by the interhemispheric fissure (or intercerebral fissure). These two bodies belonging to the Central Nervous System are very similar to each other, and are practically symmetrical between them, although there are some differences in their proportions and folds.
On the other hand, the hemispheres of the brain are connected to each other by the corpus callosum and other similar commissures; It is through those parts of the brain where information crosses from one to another.
The anatomy of the brain and its way of dividing into two hemispheres gives us some clues about the functioning of this set of organs.
On the one hand, it is known that the cerebral cortex exists because neuronal cell bodies accumulate on its surface, that is, in these areas the bodies of these nerve cells, their main structure and where their nucleus is located, accumulate. The human brain has been giving priority to the cerebral cortex to give us greater capacity to process information, and for this the best way is to make the cortex have folds, to have more surface area, and the interhemispheric fissure can be understood as a consequence of this phenomenon: it is still a very deep fold. .
But since all parts of the brain need each other and cannot operate entirely in parallel, at the bottom of this fissure there are structures such as the corpus callosum, which act as a bridge between both sides of the brain.
Pocket Neuroscience: Oversimplifying
It seems that it is already common knowledge for many people who The right hemisphere is linked to the process and expression of emotions both internal and external (this hemisphere is linked to the empathy) while, on the other hand, The left hemisphere is responsible for processing language, rational logic, and analytical ability
However, this knowledge, although for some reason it has taken root in the collective culture and everyone seems to take it for granted, is not entirely true. This is a very widespread myth that has little or no relation to reality and with the available scientific data. Without going any further, the right hemisphere also performs functions associated with the processing of some aspects of language, such as intonation and intensity.
On the other hand, the brain has a great capacity when it comes to adapting to challenges, and each hemisphere is capable of “learning” to carry out functions performed by parts of the opposite hemisphere if these regions are damaged This faculty is called brain plasticity, and it shows us to what extent the functioning of our brain is not fixed.
Science and research to shed some light
The data and information extracted on the issue of the functional differences of the brain hemispheres come from neurological studies from the early 1970s carried out on patients who underwent a cut in the corpus callosum (the fibers that connect both hemispheres) as a shock intervention to treat epilepsy.
Some of the academics and researchers who contributed the most to the study of the brain in patients without corpus callosum were psychologists Roger W. Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga who discovered that the two halves of the brain developed their processes independently and with differentiated dynamics.
However, it must be taken into account that in healthy people whose cerebral hemispheres are correctly connected through the corpus callosum, Perceptual and executive processes develop in the brain as a whole so that the different brain regions and hemispheres share information through the corpus callosum.
Although certain regions of the brain are more focused on certain functions, normally a very small part of the cerebral cortex is not completely irreplaceable: if it is injured, another will take care of those functions that have been “orphaned.” And the same thing happens with the hemispheres of the brain in general.
Currently, neuroscientists (neurologists, biologists and psychologists) are trying to understand how this complex coordination between hemispheres is carried out. This is why theories such as cerebral hyper-modularity, supported especially by evolutionary psychology and according to which the brain is a set of specialized parts that work more or less in parallel, are little accepted by the scientific community. The brain is what it is because in it, millions of neurons coordinate with each other creating activation patterns that must be understood in their entirety.
Creativity, right hemisphere. Sure?
It must also be taken into consideration that the type of daily life tasks that require “a specific hemisphere” according to popular belief, do not fully fit the categorization. left hemisphere / right hemisphere.
One of the skills with which it is easiest to debunk the myth is with creativity. Although it is easier to assume that creative tasks are carried out in the right hemisphere and repetitive and analytical tasks in the right, the reality is that these tasks are more complex and involve the brain in a more global way than one might expect if We believe the myth.
Also: “being creative” can take many forms, It’s too open a concept as if to cloister it in a task easily recognizable as a process within the human brain.
In fact, there is a study that compares the brains of “literary” students (philology, history, art) with “science” students (engineering, physics, chemistry)… and the results are surprising We explain it to you here:
Studies on the topic
Several investigations indicate that The right hemisphere has a greater role in moments when we have great intuition In fact, a study published in PLOS discovered that the activity of the right hemisphere was greater when the subjects tested tried to solve a task intuitively, with little time for reflection.
Other research revealed that brief exposure to a clue that gave some clues to solving a puzzle was more helpful to the right hemisphere than the left hemisphere. The right hemisphere was activated more clearly, leading some of the participants to the solution of the task.
In any case, it must be clarified that the insight (the process of internalization or internal understanding) is only one aspect of creativity. For example, the ability to explain stories would be another creative aspect. Here we already find an important schism: studies that evaluate the influence of each hemisphere in certain tasks have revealed that It is the left hemisphere that is most involved in the process of inventing stories or tales, while the right hemisphere is responsible for finding an explanation for the story. This curious distribution of functions was called “interpreter phenomenon” by Gazzaniga.
Simple myths that quickly penetrate people’s minds
In a general presentation on the cerebral hemispheres and their (not so) differentiated functions, Gazzaniga described, in an article published in Scientific American, the left hemisphere as “inventor and interpreter” and the right hemisphere as “truthfulness and literalness.” Adjectives that contrast with the popular conception over each hemisphere.
In any case, it is clear that practically no cognitive processes are based on very limited parts of the brain. Everything occurs in an organic network of interconnected nerve cells, which do not understand differentiations and closed categories established by human culture. That’s why we must have to the differences between the cerebral hemispheres are relative not absolute.
Concluding: between simplifications, exaggerations and corners of reality
Scientific evidence does not correspond to the myth that tells us that the left hemisphere is linked to logical processes and the right hemisphere to the creative sphere. If this is so, Why do people and even professionals in psychology or neurosciences Do you keep repeating this mantra?
One of the possibilities to understand how a myth expands and consolidates in collective culture is its seductive simplicity . People look for easy answers to questions that, to begin with, are quite naïve: “What type of brain do I have?”.
With a quick search on Google or on different social networks, a person without scientific knowledge and with this personal concern can find applications, books or workshops to “improve their weak hemisphere.” When there is demand, the supply does not take long to appear, although the scientific basis on which the matter is based is rather debatable. As in this case, where simplification makes this information border on falsehood.
Therefore, it is difficult to fight against an erroneous belief system, since the complexity involved in the functioning of our brain cannot be summarized in a brief basic diagram. However, psychology and mental health professionals and neuroscience scholars We must be in charge of rigorously reporting and debunking these myths and simplifications
