The right hemisphere of the human brain is primarily in control. What is the right hemisphere of the brain responsible for? What is the left hemisphere of the brain responsible for? What is the right half of the brain responsible for?

American neurosurgeons Joseph Bogen And Philip Vogel, and also neuropsychologist Roger Sperry in the mid-twentieth century it was established that the right and left hemispheres of the brain perform different cognitive functions. However, the results of their research were misunderstood by many, which led to the belief that in all people one of the brain hemispheres predominates: the right is responsible for logic and prudence, and the left is responsible for imaginative thinking and creativity.

In fact, all people use both the right and left hemispheres of the brain to the same extent. Each of them provides different principles for the perception of reality, the organization of speech and color recognition.

Perception of reality

The left hemisphere provides the perception of reality sequentially, step by step, building chains, algorithms, operating with a fact, detail, symbol, sign. It is responsible for the abstract-logical component in thinking, which makes it possible to remember individual facts, names, dates and their spelling. Numbers and mathematical symbols are also recognized by the left hemisphere.

Organization of speech

The left hemisphere of the brain provides general abilities for language, analysis, detail, and abstraction. It is responsible for the grammatical design of the statement and the characteristics of the properties of objects. This hemisphere perceives only the literal meaning of words, therefore it reproduces exact, literally perceived designations, “words-concepts”.

Color

The left hemisphere provides verbal coding of colors using names that are relatively rare in the language, created on the basis of comparison with objects. These are color names such as terracotta, cherry, sea green, etc.

How does the left hemisphere of the brain work in left-handed people?

Rather, the peculiarity of the functioning of the brain hemispheres of left-handers reflects the specifics of their interaction. For example, when moving the dominant hand, the brain of right-handers is activated locally in the left hemisphere, while in left-handers it is activated in both. In a state of quiet wakefulness, the brain hemispheres of right-handers work more synchronously than those of left-handers. But during the transition from wakefulness to sleep, the picture changes: in right-handed people, the synchronicity in the work of the hemispheres is disrupted, and in left-handed people it changes slightly.

Until recently, it was believed that a person with a developed left hemisphere is much more adapted to real life. And it seems clear why. It's easier for him to learn. He is goal-oriented, can clearly express his desires and describe emotions, and is also able to learn quickly.

This happened because the bulk of the work that was given to people was based on constant repetition of the same tasks and rigid concentration.

Today, the world has changed a little, and dreamers (that’s what they call those who have a developed right hemisphere) get a chance to live the way they want. Many more creative professions are emerging. And their thoughtfulness, romanticism and dreaminess are perceived as the ability to think creatively.

Synchronous operation of the hemispheres

Despite the fact that each person has either the right or left hemisphere more developed, in reality they work together. It cannot be that only one half of the brain is responsible for all human activities.

Each hemisphere is responsible for certain functions. So, for example, if a person did not have a right hemisphere responsible for emotions, then the person would be like a robot without emotions and feelings, who builds life in a way that is beneficial to him. And vice versa, if there were no left hemisphere, then a person would turn into a purely asocial being who could not take care of himself.

Thanks to both hemispheres, life becomes full. Thus, the perception of the world with the help of the left hemisphere is simplified, but the right hemisphere makes it familiar, that is, shows it as it is, with all its flaws and advantages.

It should also be noted that depending on which hemisphere is more developed, his ability to write will depend, namely, whether a person is right-handed or left-handed.

It just so happens in society that practitioners all know the characteristics of right-handers and left-handers, and therefore, even by character and abilities, they can easily tell with which hand he writes.

Most creative figures (actors, writers, etc.) write with their left hand, which once again confirms the theory of hemispheres.

The functions of the left hemisphere of the brain are very important, as they help a person analyze information and perceive the world. Moreover, without such abilities it would be difficult to survive in the current world.

The human brain is the most important and yet least studied organ of the human body.

Let's figure out what our brain hemispheres are responsible for and why some people have mainly the left one active, while others have the right one.

What is the left hemisphere of the brain responsible for?

The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for verbal information. It controls reading, speaking and writing. Thanks to its work, a person can remember a variety of dates, facts and events.

Also the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logical thinking. Here, all information received from outside is processed, analyzed, classified and conclusions are formulated. It processes information analytically and sequentially.

Right By the hemisphere of the brain is responsible for processing nonverbal information expressed in images rather than words. This is also where a person’s abilities for various types of creativity are located, the ability to indulge in dreams, fantasize, and compose. It is responsible for generating creative ideas and thoughts.

Also right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for recognition of complex images, such as people's faces, as well as the emotions displayed on these faces. It processes information simultaneously and holistically.

It should be noted that for a successful human life, the coordinated work of both hemispheres is necessary.

Which hemisphere of your brain is active?

There is a visual, psychophysiological cerebral hemisphere test(Vladimir Pugach’s test), with which you can easily determine which half of your brain is active at a given time. Look at the picture. Which direction is the girl spinning?

If clockwise, it means that at the moment your left hemisphere activity predominates, and if it’s counterclockwise, then right hemisphere activity predominates.

Some may observe the moment when the activity of the hemispheres changes, and then the girl begins to rotate in the opposite direction. This is characteristic of people (very few) who simultaneously have left-hemisphere and right-hemisphere brain activity, the so-called ambidextrous people.

They can achieve the effect of changing the direction of rotation by tilting the head or sequentially concentrating and defocusing their vision.

What about the child's brain?

The most intensive development of the brain occurs in the first years of a child’s life. And at this time, the right hemisphere is dominant in children. Since a child learns about the world through images, almost all mental processes occur in him.

But we live in a world of logic, in a world with a crazy pace of life, we are in a hurry to do everything, we want more for our children. We try to give them the maximum, we stock up on all sorts of early development methods and practically from the cradle we begin to teach our children reading and counting, we try to give them encyclopedic knowledge, giving early stimulation to the left, while the imaginative, intuitive right remains, as it were, out of work.

And, therefore, when a child grows and matures, his left hemisphere becomes dominant, and in the right, due to the lack of stimulation and a decrease in the number of connections between the two halves of the brain, an irreversible decrease in potential occurs.

I want to assure you right away that I do not urge you to leave the mental development of your children to chance. Vice versa! The age of up to 6 years is the most successful age for developing brain potential. It’s just that development should not be so early as it should be timely. And if it is inherent in nature that the right dominates in children at an early age, then maybe it is worth developing it, without trying to early stimulate the work of the left with methods aimed at developing logical thinking?

Moreover, the opportunities that our children lose in childhood precisely because of the lack of training of the right hemisphere include truly phenomenal abilities. For example: memorizing unlimited amounts of information using images (photographic memory), speed reading, and this is only the beginning of the list of superpowers that your child can have with proper systematic training of the right hemisphere.

I will tell you more about the superpowers that children with a developed right hemisphere have in the next article.

Nadezhda Ryzhkovets

The right and left hemispheres of the brain ensure the unified functioning of the body, but control opposite sides of the human body; each hemisphere performs its own specific functions and has its own specialization. The work of the right and left hemispheres is asymmetrical, but interconnected. What are the left and right hemispheres of our brain “responsible for?” The left half of the brain is responsible for logical operations, counting, establishing a sequence, and the right hemisphere perceives images, general content based on intuition, imagination, creativity; the right hemisphere processes facts, details coming from the left hemisphere, collecting them into a single image and a holistic picture. The left hemisphere strives for analysis, logical sequence, details, cause-and-effect relationships. The right hemisphere provides orientation in space, perception of the whole picture, and records the image and emotions of human faces.

You can easily test which hemisphere of your brain is active at the moment. Look at this picture.

If the girl in the picture is rotating clockwise, then at the moment your left hemisphere of the brain is more active (logic, analysis). If it turns counterclockwise, then your right hemisphere is active (emotions and intuition). It turns out that with some effort of thought, you can make the girl rotate in any direction. Of particular interest is the image with double rotation

How else can you check which hemisphere is more developed?

Squeeze your palms in front of you, now interlace your fingers and notice which hand’s thumb is on top.

Clap your hands and mark which hand is on top.

Cross your arms over your chest, mark which forearm is on top.

Determine your dominant eye.

How can you develop the abilities of the hemispheres.

There are several simple ways to develop the hemispheres. The simplest of them is an increase in the amount of work on which the hemisphere is oriented. For example, to develop logic you need to solve mathematical problems, solve crosswords, and to develop imagination, visit an art gallery, etc. The next way is to maximally use the side of the body controlled by the hemisphere - to develop the right hemisphere, you need to work with the left part of the body, and to work out the left hemisphere, you need to work with the right. For example, you can draw, jump on one leg, juggle with one hand. Exercises for awareness of the right and left hemispheres of the brain will help develop the hemisphere.

Ear-nose

With our left hand we take the tip of the nose, and with our right hand we take the opposite ear, i.e. left. At the same time, release your ear and nose, clap your hands, change the position of your hands “exactly the opposite.”

Mirror drawing

Place a blank sheet of paper on the table and take a pencil. Draw mirror-symmetrical designs and letters with both hands at the same time. When doing this exercise, you should feel your eyes and hands relax, because by working both hemispheres at the same time, the efficiency of the entire brain improves.

ring

We move our fingers one by one and very quickly, connecting the index, middle, ring, and little fingers into a ring with the thumb. First, you can do it with each hand separately, then with both hands simultaneously.

4. In front of you lies a piece of paper with the letters of the alphabet, almost all of them. Under each letter the letters L, P or V are written. The upper letter is pronounced, and the lower letter indicates movement with the hands. L - the left hand rises to the left, R - the right hand rises to the right, V - both hands rise up. Everything is very simple, if only it weren’t so difficult to do it all at the same time. The exercise is performed in sequence from the first letter to the last, then from the last letter to the first. The following is written on the piece of paper.

A B C D E

L P P V L

E F Z I K

V L R V L

L M N O P

L P L L P

R S T U F

V P L P V

X C CH W Y

L V V P L

All of the above exercises aimed at developing the right hemisphere can be used with children.

Visualization exercises .

When you have a free minute, sit your child next to you and invite them to dream up a little.

Let's close our eyes and imagine a white sheet of paper with your name written in big letters. Imagine that the letters became blue... And now they are red, and now they are green. They may be green, but the sheet of paper suddenly turned pink, and now yellow.

Now listen: someone is calling your name. Guess whose voice it is, but don’t tell anyone, sit quietly. Imagine that someone is chanting your name while music is playing around you. Let's listen!

Now we will touch your name. What does it feel like? Soft? Rough? Warm? Fluffy? Everyone's names are different.

Now we will taste your name. Is it sweet? Or maybe with sourness? Cold like ice cream or warm?

We learned that our name can have a color, a taste, a smell, and even feel something.

Now let's open our eyes. But the game is not over yet.

Ask your child to talk about his name and what he saw, heard and felt. Help him a little, remind him of the task and be sure to encourage him: “How interesting!”, “Wow!”, “I would never have thought that you had such a wonderful name!”

The story is over. We take pencils and ask them to draw a name. A child can draw whatever he wants, as long as the drawing reflects the image of the name. Let the child decorate the drawing and use as many colors as possible. But don't delay this activity. It is important to finish drawing at a strictly defined time. At this point, you decide for yourself how much time to spend on drawing - a slow kid needs about twenty minutes, but a hurry-up kid will draw everything in five minutes.

The drawing is ready. Let the child explain what certain details mean and what he tried to draw. If it’s difficult for him to do this, help him: “What is this drawn? And this? Why did you draw exactly this?”

Now the game is over, you can rest.

You probably guessed what its essence is. We took the child through all his senses: sight, taste, smell, and forced him to engage in activities, both imagination and speech. Thus, all areas of the brain had to take part in the game.

Now you can come up with other games built on the same principle. For example: " Name-flower" - draw a flower that we could call by our name; " I'm an adult" - we try to imagine and draw ourselves as an adult (how I will dress, how I speak, what I do, how I walk, and so on); " Imaginary gift " - let the baby give imaginary gifts to his friends, and tell you what they look like, smell, and feel like.

You are stuck in a traffic jam, on a long train ride, bored at home or in line at the doctor - play the suggested games. The baby is delighted and does not whine: “I’m bored, when will I finally...”, and the parent’s heart rejoices - the child is developing!

We offer you another visualization exercise called " Erasing stressful information from memory ".

Invite your child to sit, relax and close his eyes. Let him imagine in front of him a blank album sheet, pencils, and an eraser. Now invite your child to mentally draw on a piece of paper a negative situation that needs to be forgotten. Next, ask, again mentally, to take an eraser and begin to consistently erase the situation. You need to erase until the picture disappears from the sheet. After this, you should open your eyes and check: close your eyes and imagine the same sheet of paper - if the picture does not disappear, you need to mentally take the eraser again and erase the picture until it disappears completely. It is recommended to repeat the exercise periodically.

By the way, when you do something with both hands at the same time, for example, play a musical instrument or even type on a keyboard, both hemispheres work. So this is also a kind of training. It is also useful to perform familiar actions not with your dominant hand, but with the other. Those. right-handers can live the life of left-handers, and left-handers, on the contrary, can become right-handed. For example, if you usually brush your teeth with the brush in your left hand, then periodically switch it to your right. If you write with your right hand, switch the pen to your left. It's not only useful, but also fun. And the results of such training will not take long to arrive.

5. Looking at the picture, you need to say out loud as quickly as possible the colors in which the words are written.

This is how you can harmonize the work of the brain hemispheres.

The brain is the most important organ that controls the human body. Thanks to its functioning, people are able to see, hear, walk, experience emotions, communicate with each other, feel, analyze, think and love. The latter properties are unique to humans. Before answering the question of what the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for, you need to remember 9th grade anatomy: what the brain consists of.

Brain structure

The mass of the organ in an adult is approximately 1400 g. It is located in a cavity, covered with membranes on top (soft, hard, arachnoid). We can distinguish 3 most significant parts: hemispheres, cerebellum, trunk. The hemispheres of the brain regulate higher nervous activity; they contain the departments responsible for vision, hearing, speech, and writing. ensures balance; the trunk contains centers for controlling breathing and heartbeat.

Interesting! The brain in men completes its growth by the age of 25, and in women by 15!

Between there is a longitudinal slot, in the depth of which it is located. The latter connects both hemispheres and allows them to coordinate each other’s work. From anatomy lessons, many remember that each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body. It follows from this that the left hemisphere is responsible for the right half of the body.

The brain has 4 lobes (we will talk about them below). The lobes are separated by three main fissures: Sylvian, Rolandic and parieto-occipital. In addition to the grooves, the brain has many convolutions.

It is useful to know what it is: forms, possibilities.

Why does a person need it: connection with parts of the brain, causes of the disorder.

The brain matter itself is divided into gray (cortex) and white. The gray is made up of neurons and lines the top of the brain. The thickness of the cortex is approximately 3 mm, and the number of neurons is about 18 billion. White matter is the pathways (neurocyte fibers) that occupy the rest of the brain. It is the cortex that controls a person’s entire life from sleep to the manifestation of emotions.

Functions of the left hemisphere of the brain

Large hemispheres are not separated from other components of the nervous system; they work together with subcortical structures. In addition, if one hemisphere is damaged, the other can partially take over the functions of the first, which indicates joint support for the functioning of movements, sensitivity, higher nervous activity and sensory organs.

The cortex is divided into zones responsible for certain functions (vision, hearing, etc.), but they do not function separately. To say something, a person must first think, analyze, calculate. During a conversation, people show emotions (sadness, joy, anxiety, laughter), gesture, that is, use their hands and facial muscles. All this is ensured by the coordinated work of several zones of the cortex, subcortical nuclei, cranial and spinal nerves. So, what are the different lobes of the brain responsible for?

Interesting! Less than half of the human brain has been studied!

Frontal lobe of the left hemisphere of the brain

Responsible for movement, the ability to speak, individuality, thinking. - This is the part of the brain responsible for emotions, behavior, and thinking.

Motor cortex

Responsible for the activity of the striated muscles of the right half of the body, coordination of precise movements, and orientation on the ground. Impulses from internal organs go to this department. When it is damaged, ataxia, paresis of the limbs, and disturbances in the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, and breathing occur. The picture below shows the topical affiliation of organs and body parts to the precentral gyrus.

Speech motor area

Ensures the work of facial muscles to pronounce complex words and phrases. In other words, it is responsible for the formation of speech. In all right-handed people, the speech motor area in the left hemisphere occupies a larger area than in the right.

When this zone is destroyed, the person loses the ability to speak, but can scream or sing without words. Reading to oneself and the formulation of thoughts are also lost, but the ability to understand speech does not suffer.

Parietal lobe

This is where the sensitivity zone of the skin, muscles, and joints is located. Impulses from the skin receptors of the arms, legs, and torso on the right go to the left hemisphere. If this area is damaged, sensitivity in some parts of the skin is impaired, and the ability to identify objects by touch occurs. The sense of touch is lost, the perception of temperature and pain in the right extremities, as well as the torso on the right, changes.

Temporal lobe

The auditory zone is responsible for hearing and vestibular sensitivity. When the zone on the left is destroyed, deafness occurs on the right side, and the ability to hear in the left ear sharply decreases, movements become inaccurate, and staggering occurs when walking (see). Nearby is the auditory speech center, thanks to which people understand the addressed speech and hear their own.

The zone of taste and smell works together with the stomach, intestines, kidneys, bladder, and also the reproductive system.

Occipital lobe – visual area

The visual fibers at the base of the brain also cross, as do the auditory fibers. Thus, impulses from both retinas of the eyes go to the visual part of the left hemisphere. Therefore, if this zone is damaged, complete blindness does not occur, but only half of the retina on the left is affected.

The occipital part of the brain is also responsible for the visual speech center, the ability to recognize written letters and words, so people can read text. The picture shows the parts of the brain responsible for behavior, memory, hearing, and touch.

The difference between the left hemisphere and the right

As has already become clear, both hemispheres have speech, visual, auditory and other zones. So what is the difference between them? Is it only in control over the opposite halves of the body? Of course not!

Features of the left hemisphere:

Logic, analysis, thinking.
Numbers, mathematics, calculation.
Step-by-step solutions to complex problems.
The ability to understand literally.
Clear facts, arguments, without unnecessary information.
Teaching foreign languages, the ability to control speech.

All about functions, disorders and their consequences.

It is useful to know what it is: its role in the human body, signs of dysfunction.

Everything about: from anatomy to diseases.

What is the right hemisphere of the brain responsible for?

Intuition, imagination, emotions.
Perception, musicality, artistry.
Fantasy, bright colors, the ability to dream.
Creating an image from a description, a passion for mysticism and riddles.

How to determine the dominant hemisphere?

They say that right-handers have a more developed left hemisphere, and left-handers have the opposite. This is not entirely true. A person can write with his left hand, but be a born mathematician, skeptic, logician and analyst, not at all interested in painting, music, and at the same time not believe in mysticism. In fact, it is difficult to say which hemisphere is dominant, since both of them work when required.

The human brain is the most inaccessible and difficult to study. Even in the era of the introduction of new modern research methods, the brain has not been fully studied. The brain is divided into 2 halves of the hemisphere, each of which is responsible for its own group of functions.

There are many proven facts about the brain, here are some of them:

The number of neurons (nerve cells) reaches 85 billion
The average weight of the adult human brain is about 1.4 kg, that is, about 2 - 3% of the total human weight
Brain size has no effect on mental abilities, which has been proven in recent studies

In this article, we will take a detailed look at the structure and functions of each hemisphere and conduct a test that will establish which hemisphere is dominant.

Functions of the left hemisphere in the following directions:

Ability to perceive verbal (oral) speech
Ability to learn languages. You can meet quite a lot of people who know 3, 4 or more languages, and learning them from them is not particularly difficult. The reason for memorizing new languages lies in the high development of the left hemisphere
The predisposition to good linguistic memorability rests on our memory, which also allows us to remember dates, numbers, events, etc. As a rule, with a good memory and a consequently developed hemisphere, people become analysts, teachers, etc. Some people, so to speak, with high abilities, able to point to the exact page where a certain text is located
Development of speech functionality. Consequently, the more the left side predominates, the faster the child begins to speak, while maintaining the correct structure of speech
Performs sequential (logical) information processing
Predisposition to heightened perception of reality. That is, for example, red remains red, blue, blue, while the use of metaphorical phrases is not characteristic of humans
The ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships based on logical beliefs, that is, a person is predisposed to the fact that every piece of information received is compared and has a logical connection, this is especially characteristic of the profession of an operative
Controls the right side of the body

The left hemisphere is characterized by a person’s more explosive character and control of the search and acquisition of new information

Functions of the right hemisphere

Historically, for a long period of time, this part of the brain acted as an outcast. Many scientists have argued that this hemisphere is of no use to humans and is a “dead” and unnecessary part of our brain. It got to the point that some surgeons simply removed the hemisphere, citing its uselessness.

Gradually, the importance of the right part increased and at the moment it occupies the same strong position as the left part. The functions it performs are as follows:

The predominance of the development of nonverbal and holistic representation, that is, the information received is expressed not verbally, but by symbols or some images
Characterized by visual-spatial perception. Thanks to this ability, a person has the ability to navigate the terrain
Emotionality. Although this function does not directly relate to the hemispheres, the development of the right side has a slightly more significant impact than the left
Perception of metaphors. That is, if a person expressed himself in some kind of metaphor, another person with a developed understanding will easily understand what he is talking about.
Creative predisposition. It is individuals with predominant development of this part who in most cases become musicians, writers, etc.
Parallel information processing. The right hemisphere has the ability to process various sources of data. Incoming information is not processed based on a logical sequence, but is presented as a whole
Controls motor abilities on the left side of the body

Studies of the function of the cerebral hemispheres on the right side show that it is also responsible for reducing negative reactions to stressful situations, emotions and trying to avoid something unknown.

Test to determine the dominant hemisphere

This test will reveal a stronger development of the right or left side of the brain after several consecutive exercises. Try the following:

Exercise No. 1

You need to bring your palms together in front of you and cross your fingers. Look at your thumbs and write down on a piece of paper which finger is taller.

Exercise No. 2

Take a piece of paper and drill a small hole in the center, but it should be large enough so that when you look through this hole you can see the entire surroundings. First, look through it with both eyes. Next, look with each eye in turn, and when you look at one eye, the other should be covered.

You should be careful when viewing through the hole, since when inspecting any item, it will shift somewhat. Write down on a piece of paper in which eye the displacement occurred.

Exercise No. 3

Cross your arms in the chest area and write it down on a piece of paper, which turned out to be higher.

Exercise No. 4

Clap your hands a couple of times and write down on a piece of paper which hand turned out to be dominant, that is, which palm covers the other.

Now is the time to check the results. For each exercise you had to choose your dominant hand P - right hand, L - left hand. Then compare with the results below:

PPPP - this suggests that you rather lack the desire to change anything, that is, there are certain stereotypes that you follow
PPPL – lack of determination in any issue or action
PPLP – high communication skills and artistry
PPLL – decisive character, but at the same time there is gentleness towards others
PLPP – predisposition to analytics, high caution when making any decisions
PLPL – there is a susceptibility to other people’s opinions, you are easily manipulated
LPPP – very high emotionality

Conclusion

Even though in most cases people have a more developed right hemisphere than the left, in fact, their work is always interconnected. In reality, it cannot be that a person has only one part of the brain functioning, and the second does not perform any functions.

Each part is responsible for its specific aspects of activity. Even if you look at what would happen if the right hemisphere, which is responsible for our emotionality, was absent. In this case, a person could be compared to a computer that performs a certain number of logical functions, but does not experience emotionality.

The absence of the left would correspondingly lead to a complete loss of socialization. It is precisely due to the fact that the functions of the hemispheres of the human brain work interconnectedly that our life appears to be a complete picture with logical, emotional and other equally important components.

The human brain is a complex system of interconnected sections that perform various functions - they control internal organs and at the same time are responsible for interaction with the outside world. There is a whole world inside us, since a person is able not only to perceive information coming from outside, but also to create his own images, dream, and communicate with other people. This is possible thanks to the coordinated work of the two hemispheres - the right and left.

Historical background

Before it was discovered that each hemisphere was responsible for separate functions, it was believed that the left hemisphere was “more important” than the right. This opinion was based on observations of patients whose speech center (Broca's center) in the left hemisphere of the brain was damaged. Since the right hemisphere of the brain did not take on a compensatory function and speech was not restored, it was concluded that the right side of the brain was underdeveloped.

The true state of affairs was discovered by Roger Sperry while examining patients with epilepsy. In these studies, scientists assessed the cognitive functions of different parts of the brain independently of each other. During testing, patients had one eye closed and a familiar object, for example, an apple, was brought to the other. Information from the eye that saw the fruit was transmitted to the opposite hemisphere (the optic nerve fibers cross in the brain). Moreover, if the impulse was transmitted to the left hemisphere, then the person could name the object; if to the right, it was difficult to say what he saw, but could easily choose an apple from cards with images.

From this it was concluded that the left and right hemispheres are responsible for different functions. In 1981, Roger Sperry, along with David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel, was awarded the Nobel Prize for “discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres.”

What is the right hemisphere of the brain responsible for?

After discovering that each half of the brain was responsible for different functions, a number of studies were conducted to clarify this discovery. Evidence has been obtained that the right side of the brain dominates when processing nonverbal information and thinking:

symbols and images;
location perception and spatial orientation in general;
metaphors and “reading between the lines”: humor, proverbs and other indirect understanding of the text;
creative abilities: the ability to both enjoy works of art and create your own compositions;
dreams;
intuition;
ability to adapt;
relationship between various events, criticality;
processes information in parallel rather than sequentially, thus considering the problem as a whole.

It follows from this that although the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logic, speech, event planning and the ability to perform exact sciences, their holistic perception will be impossible without the right half of the brain.

How to develop the right hemisphere of the brain

Any creative activity is suitable for developing the right half of the brain - composing music, drawing, writing stories. There are also special exercises that will increase the potential of the right side and make it work at full strength:

Did you know

more than 95% of right-handers and about 70% of left-handers have speech localization in the left hemisphere, but in part of the population it can also be in the right half of the brain;
a simple test to determine the dominant hemisphere of the brain - clasp your hands in front of you and interlace your fingers; the thumb of one of the hands will be on top - this side is dominant.

American neurosurgeons Joseph Bogen And Philip Vogel, and also neuropsychologist Roger Sperry in the mid-twentieth century it was established that the right and left hemispheres of the brain perform different cognitive functions. However, the results of their research were misunderstood by many, which led to the belief that all people have a dominant one of the brain hemispheres: the right is responsible for logic and prudence, and the left for imaginative thinking and creativity.

In fact, all people use both the right and left hemispheres of the brain to almost the same extent. However, each of them provides different principles for the perception of reality, the organization of speech and color recognition.

Perception of reality

The right hemisphere perceives information as a whole, ensures the perception of reality in its entirety of diversity and complexity, in general with all its constituent elements. It works through many channels at once and is capable of reconstructing the whole from its parts, in particular, it is responsible for the perception of location and spatial orientation.

Organization of speech

The right hemisphere of the brain forms the integrity of semantic content, provides imaginative thinking, and creates associations. It is based on a metaphorical representation of the objective world.

Color recognition

The right hemisphere of the human brain provides the perception and verbal coding of basic, simple colors, such as blue, red, etc. In general, the right hemisphere is responsible for the formation of rigid connections between an object and a color, a color and a word.

How does the right hemisphere of the brain work in left-handed people?

According to sociologists, from 5 to 15% of the world's inhabitants are left-handed. Scientists have found that their use of their left hand as a leading hand is associated with the peculiarity of the functioning of their brain. It is believed that the right hemisphere of the brain of these people is responsible for those tasks that the left hemisphere of right-handers copes with, and vice versa. This is partly true, but there are also some peculiarities. For example, when moving the dominant hand, the brain of right-handers is activated locally in the left hemisphere, while in left-handers it is activated in both. In a state of quiet wakefulness, the brain hemispheres of right-handers work more synchronously than those of left-handers. But during the transition from wakefulness to sleep, the picture changes: in right-handed people, the synchronicity in the work of the hemispheres is disrupted, and in left-handed people it changes slightly.

It is now known that the left and right hemispheres of the brain perform different functions. The cognitive processes they carry out differ. Scientific research in this area has been carried out repeatedly, and now the thesis about the differences in the functioning of the brain hemispheres is beyond doubt. In particular, this is confirmed by the studies of such specialists in the field of neuropsychology as R. Sperry, D. Hubel and T. Wiesel.

It has been proven that the intensity of use of both hemispheres is the same. So the idea that each person has one hemisphere predominant is a common myth. But the very principle of information processing in them is different. And this is another proof of the amazing multitasking of the human body. If the human brain cannot solve a problem using the usual method, then it is capable of using many others. For example, he will make up for the lack of verbal information with non-verbal information, and will consider a complex problem as a set of various processes.

Specifics of the right hemisphere

The essence of the differences in the work of the two hemispheres of the brain can be briefly expressed in the following phrase: “The left hemisphere does not see the forest for the trees, and the right hemisphere sees the forest, but does not distinguish individual trees.” Accordingly, the right side of the brain in its work is capable of recognizing any phenomenon as a whole, without concentrating on details. It is viewed as a kind of overall picture. This effect is achieved through the simultaneous and very fast analysis of many elements. Thus, we come to one of the features of the work of the right hemisphere of the brain - parallel consideration of several tasks.

Multitasking and seeing the big picture

The left hemisphere of the brain analyzes information in a linear fashion - first identifying a problem, then analyzing the problem, and then moving on to the next one. But the right side of this organ functions differently. At this stage of the development of science, it can be argued that it analyzes several tasks simultaneously and identifies connections between them. Roughly speaking, the brain is able to detect several problems (questions, tasks, objects of analysis) at once, consider them simultaneously, at some stage pay attention to one or several of them, and then, if necessary, return to the rest.

This specificity of the work of the right hemisphere determines the systemic vision of the problem. Precisely as a combination of many interrelated elements, without separation from other problems and factors influencing it. That is, the left hemisphere “sees” first the individual elements of the system, and then, analyzing them, the whole picture. And the right one is capable of capturing more subtle, “non-obvious” connections. From this comes the next feature - the ability to process non-verbal information.

Recognition and analysis of nonverbal information

This is also a function of the right hemisphere. This term refers to all that information that is transmitted not in verbal form, but in the form of symbols, signs, gestures, sounds, colors, etc. For example, a person’s pallor and unhealthy appearance are nonverbal information that can be obtained using the visual organs by analyzing a person’s appearance. But words about feeling unwell are already verbal.

There are such types of non-verbal information as:

Emotional.
Aesthetic.
Individual and personal.
Biophysical.
Spatial.
Psychological.

The right hemisphere of the brain is capable of analyzing numerous subtle cues that form the basis of nonverbal information. And then these signs are put together into a single picture, or conclusions are drawn based on them.

Orientation in space

Spatial orientation is understood as the process of determining one’s position relative to foreign objects and the distance to them in accordance with any reference system. It is on this ability that, for example, orientation on the terrain, drawing up a route or successfully putting together a puzzle depends.

Emotion Recognition

Recognition of emotions and the so-called emotional intelligence, is also controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain. The ability to understand the desires, motives and intentions of other people is based on the ability to capture and analyze a variety of non-verbal messages.

Understanding Metaphors

This human ability is also due to the specifics of the right hemisphere. To understand metaphors, it is necessary to perceive words figuratively, understand hidden and explicit meanings, and the ambiguity of the same word or expression in different situations. After all, even the simple word “go” can mean a completely different process in the phrases: “a person is walking” and “it is raining.” This also includes recognizing the meaning of proverbs and sayings, and any ambiguous expressions.

Fantasies and imagination

Creating mental images is the job of the right hemisphere. This determines the ability for creativity, invention and fantasy, mystical thinking, mysticism and religiosity.

In general, the study of the activity of the brain in general, and its hemispheres in particular, is an area where most discoveries have yet to be made. What is known now is only a small part of the array of information.