РефератыИностранный языкRiRight Brain Left Brain Essay Research Paper

Right Brain Left Brain Essay Research Paper

Right Brain, Left Brain Essay, Research Paper


The article in which I chose to examine is called Right Brain, Left Brain:


Fact and Fiction, written by Jerre Levy. In the past fifteen years or so


there has been a lot of talk of left brain and right brain people. Levy’s


reason for righting this article was clearly to stop the misconceptions and


show the truth about how our brain hemispheres operate.


Levy first explores the myth of the left brain and right brain theory.


She states that generally people see the left hemisphere of the brain


controlling logic and language and the right, creativity and intuition. In


addition people differ in their styles of thought, depending on which half


of the brain is dominant. She believes that most of what these notions


state is farce.


Next the article explores the history of this fascination of the left and


right hemispheres of the brain. Apparently the study of this aspect of the


brain traces back to time of Hippocrates. Levy weaves in and out of the


various theories and prominent people known for contributing to the


confusion. It wasn’t until 1962 when Roger W. Sperry began experimenting


on certain aspects of the brain that contribute to the truth of the left


and right brain theory. Sperry studied people who had undergone surgical


division of the corpus callosum, the bridge between the two hemispheres.


His studies showed that, "an object placed in the right hand (left


hemisphere) could be named readily, but one placed in the left hand


(nonverbal right hemisphere) could be neither named nor described.


Next to branch off of Sperry’s studies was psychologist Doreen Kimura.


Kimura developed behavioral methods which involved presenting visual


stimuli rapidly to either the left or right visual fields. Another


important method developed was "dichotic listening" which centered around


the use of sound to study the hemispheres. Through these tests and the


continual study the theory that the left brain controlled ended. Instead a


new theory was born known as the two-brain theory. This said that at


different times one of the two hemispheres would be operating. An example


of this is that the right hemisphere is in control when an artist paints


but the left hemisphere was in control when a novelist wrote a book.


This theory failed because of one physical studies showed that people with


hemispheres surgically disconnected could operate in everyday life. Al

so,


research demonstrated that each hemisphere had its own functional


expertise, and that the two halves were complementary.


Next, the article states its worth. The author shows the up to date


agreed upon theory of the two hemispheres in five simple points.


1. The two hemispheres are so similar that when they are disconnected by


split-brain surgery, each can function remarkably well, although quite


imperfectly


2. Although they are remarkably similar they are also different. The


differences are seen in contrasting contributions. Each hemisphere


contributes something to every action a person takes.


3. Logic is not confined to the left hemisphere. Although dominant in the


left logic is present in the right hemisphere.


4. There is no evidence that either creativity or intuition is an


exclusive property of the right hemisphere. Same theory as #3.


5. Since the two hemispheres do not function independently, and since each


hemisphere contributes its special capacities to all cognitive activities,


it is quite impossible to educate one hemisphere at a time in a normal


brain.


Levy comes to the conclusion that people are not purely left or right


brained. There is a continuum in which the hemispheres work together in


harmony. Often the left or right hemisphere is more active in some people


but it is never the sole operator. She concludes, "We have a single brain


that generates a single mental self."


Compared to what we did in class related to the left and right hemispheres


of the brain, both what we learned and the article taught were extremely


similar. Our exercise showed that we are not left or right brained but


merely somewhere on the scale between left and right brain. Some of us were


extreme left, few extreme right and most in the middle leaning left a bit


(this is where I fell).


I could not agree more with what we did in class and the article I read.


The author wrote a fabulous complete article. In my summary which probably


was a little lengthy, I feel I am not doing the author just. She had so


much wonderful background that there was no way to include it all. She


introduced the problem at hand and explored every aspect of the subject


showing other’s views and previously excepted theories. After all was said


she introduced her (generally accepted) theory in a simple well thought out


five point system that suited the novice as well as the expert.

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