Left and Right Brain... Psych 101

LEFT AND RIGHT BRAIN
Thinking from your side

The left and right sides of the brain have specific functions and are responsible for different types of thinking. Most interestingly, these two sides of the brain have the ability to operate practically independently of each other. In psychology, this is referred to as the lateralization of brain function. 

In the early 1960s, psychologist Roger Sperry began conducting experiments on epileptic patients. Sperry discovered that by cutting the structure responsible for connecting and communicating between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, known as the corpus callosum, seizures could be reduced and even eliminated.

Once the corpus callosum was cut, the patients- who originally appeared normal- began experiencing other strange symptoms. Many patients found that they could name objects that had been processed by the left hemisphere of the brain but could no longer name objects that were processed by the right hemisphere. From this, Sperry deduced that the left hemisphere of the brain was responsible for controlling language. Other patients struggled with the ability to put blocks together in the prearranged way. 

Sperry was able to successfully show that left and right hemispheres of the brain were responsible for different functions and that each hemisphere also had the ability to learn. In 1981, Roger Sperry was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in brain lateralization. 

RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANCE
The right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for the left side of the body, is more capable in tasks that are expressive and creative-- also known as visual construction tasks. These include tasks such as expressing and reading emotions, understanding metaphors, discriminating shapes (like picking out an object that is camouflaged), copying designs, and making music. 

LEFT BRAIN DOMINANCE
The left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for the right side of the body, is more capable at tasks such as languages, critical thinking, logic, reasoning, and use of numbers.

THE SPIT-BRAIN EXPERIMENTS
In Roger Sperry's split-brain experiments, Sperry had a split-brain patient (someone with a cut corpus callosum) sit in front of a screen that would hide his or her hands. Behind the screen, Sperry placed objects that the split-brain patient could not see.

The patient would then focus their eyes to the center of the screen and a word would appear on the screen in the patient's left visual field. This information was then received by the right hemisphere of the brain (the nonverbal part). The result was that the patient was actually unable to tell Sperry the word that he or she had seen. 

Sperry would then ask the patient to use their left hand to reach behind the screen and choose the object that corresponded with the word. Even though the patient was not aware of even seeing a word, the patient was able to choose the correct object. This is because the right hemisphere controls the movement of the left side of the body. 

Through this experiment, Roger Serry was able to successfully show that the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for controlling reading and speech and that the right hemisphere of the brain does not have the ability to process verbal stimuli. 

So I Know My Dominant Side... Now What?
Understand which hemisphere you are more dominant in can actually be incredibly useful when it comes to thinking of better ways to approach studying or learning. For example, if you are more dominant with your right hemisphere, you may have a harder time following verbal instructions, and might benefit from improving your organizational skills or writing directions down. 

"My brain has two sides, the right side and the left side. The right side has nothing left and the left has nothing right." 

~Bella