The brain has two hemispheres, the right and the left. Is there a big difference in how these two parts of the brain work? In fact, the idea that some people use one cerebral hemisphere more than the other is rather a myth.
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You are quite brain left or brain law ? You may have already taken the test in a magazine or on a site dedicated to psychology … This question refers to the idea that one cerebral hemisphere takes over the other, which would explain the personality of people. Initially, in the study of the brain, researchers were able to show a specialization of brain areas. Thus in the XIXe century, Paul Broca and Karl Wernicke described areas of the left hemisphere involved in language : the’Broca area and Wernicke’s area. These findings began to inspire the idea of asymmetry in the brain. Rather, face recognition is controlled by an area in the right hemisphere of the brain.
Sensory and motor functions are carried by the two cerebral hemispheres. The muscles of the left part of the body are controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain, and vice versa, which can give the impression that the two hemispheres are working independently of each other. But in fact they communicate to accomplish complex tasks.
A well-anchored myth in psychology
We often present the left brain as associated with logical and rational reasoning, the right brain being rather intuitive and emotional. There would thus be personalities rather “left brain” or “right brain”, who would use more one side of the brain than the other. This conception even more often attributes the left brain to men and the right to women, known to be more intuitive … Similarly, artists, more focused on creation, would use their right brain more!
But this is indeed a myth which is not based on proven scientific knowledge: it is not possible to define personalities by a specialization of one cerebral hemisphere which would gain the upper hand over the other. We use our two brain hemispheres well, regardless of our personality.
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