Brain Hemispheres And Their Functions: Do We Use One Of These Parts Of The Brain More?

Have you ever heard people say that they tend to think more with the right or left side of their brain? Our brain is divided into two brain hemispheres In fact, each of these parts of the brain is specialized in different mental functions. Despite this, our behaviors and skills require the intervention of both hemispheres of the brain. So, are there people who have a tendency to think with the left or right side of the brain or is this a myth?

The theory of dominance of the cerebral hemispheres

According to the domain theory of left or right hemisphere, these parts of the brain control different types of thoughts. In addition, it is suggested that people have a tendency to use one of the two cerebral hemispheres more.

For example, in everyday life it is common to find people who say that they have a greater tendency to use the left hemisphere since they consider themselves more logical, analytical and objective people. On the other hand, when someone believes they use the right hemisphere more, it is usually related to intuition, reflection and subjectivity.

Within psychology, this theory is identified as the lateralization of brain function. This implies that our brain contains two hemispheres, each of which performs a series of specific functions. These two parts of the brain communicate with each other through the corpus callosum. This theory also states that the left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body, while the right hemisphere controls those on the left.

Right hemisphere of the brain

According to this theory, the left part of the brain I would be more inclined to control the following:

• Express emotions
• musical skills
• Imagination
• Intuition
• Creativity

left hemisphere of the brain

The theory of cerebral laterization also states that right part of the brain Check the following:

• Language
• Logic
• Critical thinking
• Numerical operations
• Reasoning

So, are there brain areas that control specific functions? Is there really a dominance of the left hemisphere or the right hemisphere of our brain. This is one of the most widespread myths in psychology and arose due to observations and studies of the different parts of the human brain.

This theory about brain hemispheres It emerged through studies carried out by Roger W. Sperry, who received the Nobel Prize in 1981. His research showed that patients who had the corpus callosum surgically cut, that is, the structure that connects both cerebral hemispheres, showed progress before epilepsy.

But, in addition to obtaining these benefits from epilepsy, many patients also experienced an inability to name objects that were processed by the brain. right side of the brain (since they were only seen through one eye). Based on this information, Sperry suggested that language was controlled by the left side of the brain.

How lateralized are our brain parts and their functions?

In reality, most people generally use both parts of the brain equally. However, there are different parts of the brain with differentiated functions.

These two parts of the brain have different contributions to the way we think, perceive the world around us, and process our emotions. But to think that we have a tendency to use one of our brain hemispheres It represents a false dichotomy. The complexity of our brain is such that most processes involve both areas of the brain.

Despite this, there are some patterns that usually lead to a side or other of the brain But, most of these functionalities have at least some equivalent on the opposite side of the brain. In fact, the most recent research has shown that our brain has a lot of plasticity, which means that in cases of injury, people can use other parts of the brain for the same functions.

So much so that each brain is unique. some have brain hemispheres with different functions than others since the location of this knowledge develops during the course of life. However, each brain is unique. Some have different lateralization than others, and the location of functions may even develop over the life course.

Parts of the brain and their functions

Neuroscientists now know that two cerebral hemispheres They collaborate to accomplish a wide variety of tasks.

“The popular psychology notion of a left brain and a right brain does not capture their intimate working relationship. The left hemisphere specializes in selecting the sounds that make up words and working out sentence syntax, for example, but they have no “the monopoly on language processing. The right hemisphere is more sensitive to the emotional characteristics of language, tuning into the slow rhythms of speech that carry intonation and stress.”

Carl Zimmer, science communicator

In fact, research has shown that although in some cases activity is greater in some critical regions, the cerebral hemispheres They are essentially the same in most functions.

“It is absolutely true that some brain functions occur on one side or the other of the brain. Language tends to be to the left, attention more to the right. But people don’t tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems that it is determined more connection by connection”

Dr. Jeff Anderson, neuroscientist