The brain is divided into two hemispheres, each responsible for different types of thinking. The right brain is intuitive and holistic, while the left brain is logical and analytical. People have a bias towards one side, but both hemispheres must work together. The distinction was first made during attempts to identify speech problems, and research has revealed a correlation between brain activity and tasks. Some reject the idea of hemisphere dominance, saying it’s a matter of personality.
The brain is divided into two hemispheres, the right brain and the left brain. It’s a very complex structure, but one modern theory suggests that each part is responsible for a different kind of thinking. It is very difficult to separate the two structures, but experiments have determined that one side has more activity for specific types of brain activity than the other.
According to this theory, the right brain is responsible for random, intuitive, holistic, synthesizing, and subjective thinking. The left brain is responsible for: logical, sequential, rational, analytical and objective thinking. Every person has a bias, based on how they use their right and left hemispheres to solve problems.
People who are right-brain dominant apply creativity to problem solving first. They are more reliant on intuition and quickly grasp the big picture of a situation. As a rule, right-brain thinkers are not very detail-oriented.
Left-brain-dominant people prefer reason to everything else. They use rational logic to identify the cause of a problem and then think about how to fix it. As a general rule, left-brain thinkers are detail-oriented.
The distinction between right-brain and left-brain functions was first made during early attempts to identify the causes of speech problems. An autopsy of a patient with a severe speech impairment showed a large tumor on the left side of the brain. This tumor caused the patient to lose the ability to create a logical train of thought, while retaining the ability to speak.
Further research and investigations have revealed a profound correlation between areas of brain activity and specific types of tasks. This area of research has grown considerably as work on stroke rehabilitation and brain injury treatment becomes more important. The more we know about how the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere work, the better treatment plans we can create to help these patients recover.
The difference between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere is really a preference. Both sections function normally and must work together on a wide range of tasks. The personal preference we show between details and generalities is related to which side of the brain we prefer to use. Many physiologists reject this idea of hemisphere dominance and point out that this preference is of personality. A person can be trained to use both sides with enough skill level that they don’t have a clear preference.
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