Brain Hemispheres: Everything you need to know

What are the functions of each brain hemispheres? What does each half of our brain do? Is it true that the left hemisphere is the analytic and the right side emotional? Is it true that one hemisphere is the creative and the other the logical? In this article, we will reveal everything you need to know about brain hemispheres. Discover your brain!

We have often been told that the left hemisphere of the brain is the analytic, mathematical, logical, which is in charge of reasoning. On the contrary, the right hemisphere of the brain is the emotional, creative. In addition, this difference has been used as a way to define personality. ” If you are a creative, sensitive and passionate person then you use your right hemisphere more”. We hear that all the time, so let’s check some facts to see if they are true. 

Brain Hemispheres: Do we use one more than the other?

A study from the University of Utah, USA, dismantled these myths:

There is no evidence that people use one of the brain hemispheres more than the other. This group of researchers identified brain networks in charge of process lateralized functions (brain functions that are processed more in one hemisphere than another), to see if it was true that some people used more one of the brain hemispheres more than the other.

During the study, the researchers analyzed the brain of 1000 people and found that no individual was preferably using one hemisphere over another. They concluded that no personality type is related to the greater use of the left or right hemisphere.

Therefore, it is false that some people use one brain hemisphere more than another depending on their personality. Some functions may be specialized in a particular cerebral hemisphere, but the truth is that we use both hemispheres equally. In addition, although

Some functions are specific to a particular brain hemisphere, however, we use both brain hemispheres equally. Even though one hemisphere is specific for a function, it will always work better in continuous communication with the other hemisphere.

 They can’t even establish that the right hemisphere is our creative brain. Creativity is a very complex process. According to a study, creative thinking does not seem to depend on a single mental process or brain region. Nor is it particularly associated with the right brain, attention, low level of activation or synchronization with the alpha waves emitted by our brain.

Brain Hemispheres: What is brain lateralization?

Brain lateralization consists in that some brain functions are given more in one hemisphere than in another. This is mostly true when we process language, the left hemisphere is in charge of language processing for the most part, whereas the right hemisphere only processes verbal information in relation to emotion. However, it has recently been discovered that speech is processed in both hemispheres equally, so perhaps language is not as lateralized as we previously thought. 

Likewise, it was believed that a left-handed person’s brain was less lateralized for language development. That is, it was believed that these people would use more of the right brain hemisphere for language, contrary to the general right-handed population. It was been proven that this only happens in 1% of the left-handed population. 

It was even found that the degree of lateralization of some brain functions may vary from individual to individual.

Our brain is lateralized in some of its functions, however, most of these happen in both hemispheres. If a brain region or even a whole hemisphere is damaged or destroyed, other neighboring areas or even the opposite hemisphere may in some cases be in charge of its activity. When brain damage interferes in the connections between one area and another, alternative connections can be developed to bridge the difficulties. This is only possible thanks to the brain’s great ability to adapt, which is called brain plasticity.

Brain Hemispheres: Knowing Brain Functioning

There are clinically validated programs that allow us to explore our brain and learn about our cognitive strengths and weaknesses. A cognitive assessment is the first step to recognize if there is any neuronal connectivity problem between both brain hemispheres.

CogniFit is a leader in cognitive stimulation and brain training tools. They activate, exercise and train important cognitive capacities (attention, memory, executive functions, planning, perception, etc.) and the components that integrate them.

All of CogniFit’s brain games have been validated so that children, adolescents, adults, and seniors can activate and strengthen their mental capacity and compare their cognitive status with the rest of the world population. How to start using it? It’s very easy, just register here.

How do the brain hemispheres work?

There is still a lot left to discover about brain hemispheres but here are some facts we do know:

• The brain is composed of two well-differentiated halves called hemispheres. These halves are connected by a structure called corpus callosum, which facilitates communication between hemispheres. These two hemispheres are in constant communication, and in most activities, both work equally.
• Experts suggest that a good connection between hemispheres may have to do with our level of intelligence. The more connected they are, the more intellectual we will be, such is the example of Einstein’s brain.
• Each hemisphere is responsible for the activity on the opposite side of the body. That is, the right hemisphere will be responsible for the movements of the left side of the body and vice versa. Therefore, an injury to the left brain will have an impact on the right side of the body.
• The processing of visual and auditory stimuli, spatial manipulation, facial perception and artistic ability is found bilaterally, although they may show some superiority in the right hemisphere.
• Contrary to what was thought until recently, according to a study, the visual processing of numbers is performed by both hemispheres equally.

Brain Hemispheres: what do they do?

The Right Hemisphere of the Brain:

It deals, to a greater extent, with the following functions:

• The consciousness of oneself.
• According to one study, it is this hemisphere of the brain that is responsible for recognizing our image in a mirror.
• Facial recognition.
• Responsible for processing the emotional part of the language, such as prosody and intonation.
• According to a study, areas that are activated with intense romantic love, are in the right brain hemisphere.
• Dominant in visual-spatial attention.

Left hemisphere of the brain

The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for:

• Understanding and producing language.
• Math and fact recalling.
• Processing attractive faces.

In the next video, Ian Mcgilchrist explains why our brain is divided into two hemispheres, and what each one is responsible for.

Brain Hemispheres: Where did the myth of the right brain and the left brain come from?

This myth arose from the misinterpretation of Roger Sperry’s experiments on divided brains. Studying the effects of epilepsy, Sperry found that cutting corpus callosum could reduce or eliminate epileptic seizures.

However, these patients also suffered other symptoms after communication channels between the brain hemispheres were severed. For example, many brain-split patients found themselves unable to name objects that were processed on the right side (those in the left visual field) but were able to name those processed on the left side (those in the right field of vision).

From this information, Sperry suggested that language was controlled exclusively by the left side of the brain.

We hoped you liked our article and please feel free to comment below.

This article is originally in Spanish written by Andrea García Cerdán, translated by Alejandra Salazar. 

Andrea García Cerdán

Psicóloga General Sanitaria y sexóloga. Deseosa de mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas mediante la práctica clínica y la comunicación a través de la red.