While writing a blog on leaf colors last fall, this started coming to me. If I am more right-brained why do my lovely posts often generate the logic, the scientific, of these lovely posts? If I really thought about it, I would have to say that my right brain qualities come out before the left-brain qualities. I love beauty, creating, and the softer emotions. But my left-brain qualities always interweave with the beauty. I like to dicker over left and right brain things. Some people would say it’s because I’m a Libra. The sign of the Libra is the scales, and Libras are always weighing emotion against logic and both sides of every issue in an effort to make them even – or to make the best choices. Since I don’t really go with that stuff – even though there’s some logic to it, lol – I will go back to the science.
Now the interesting, new bit. I've always considered myself a "both sides" brainer as logic and creativity are both strong in me, and now it makes sense why. I am almost sorry to say that science has changed its mind. The 1960’s research (left-brained people are more analytical, logical, numerical, whereas right-brained people are more creative, free-thinking, able to see the big picture, intuitive) which made sense at the time was overturned in 2013. Studies now suggest that while different parts of the brain do govern the processing of different mental tasks, there is typically no overall dominant side. Test results showed that people use both hemispheres of the brain and there does not seem to be a dominant side, except for what they are doing at any given moment. For example, while both sides of the brain do certain things, the new 2020’s reviews indicate that the left side of the brain is dominant in language processing, but both sides of the brain are necessary for full comprehension.
The left half of the brain is primarily responsible for speech, abstract thinking and controls the right side of the body. The right half of the brain is responsible for image processing, spatial thinking, and movement in the left side of the body. The two sides of the brain are connected by nerve fibers and when a brain is healthy, the two sides can communicate. Fortunately, they don’t have to communicate, so if a person has an injury that separates the two brain hemispheres, they can still function relatively normally.
The other interesting bit while researching this was that while different people’s brains worked differently, such as how they process language, left-handed people often use different sides of their brains for working memory, language, vision, and hand control compared to right-handed people. They also tended to have more gray matter on the right side of their brain. (Gray matter is a tissue in the brain and spinal cord that plays an important role in allowing a person to function normally day to day. [Dr. Pooja M])
After the 1960’s research results, men were typically thought to be more left brained (logical) and women more right brained (creative). All this new information regarding the new test results were peppered with words like “(the tests) suggests,” but I am sorry to have to tell my husband that one of his favorite jokes is no longer apt as he loves to say, “I’m never in my right mind.”
Medical News Today, BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK 2020 (MARCH 16-22) Last medically reviewed on July 13, 2022; https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
Comments