Phenomenon of Left-brained and Right-brained Functions

Human Brain - There are differences between the hemispheres though. We might not have a more dominant half  but in reality our brain split into two hemispheres, left and right.

There is a common belief that most people are either more 'right-brained or more left-brained while there are a few who are a almost equally balanced. A strong left-brain manifests itself through and competency in analytical subjects - science, mathematics, business and accounting, logic, manufacturing etc. whereas a person with a strong right brain is more into fine arts. philosophy, spirituality, holistic concepts and other creative activities.

Based on various accounts that were studied that this is a reasonable classification and it does not depend on race, age, gender or national origin. There are people we meet in our daily life, who have no passion or appreciation for paintings or other objects of art, but they can talk for hours about numbers, be it some topic in theoretical physics or how to make money by investments. Similarly there have been plenty of people who simply do not like in talks about financial numbers, taxation or loan amortization or any technical subject but can get visibly excited in their admiration for a sculpture or a book  or other items of creative output.

Dominance - Myth vs Science

A very popular question " Are you left-brained or right-brained ?" hovering at the edges of sound neuroscience. If we search on the dominance of left or right brain in the internet we will find endless blogs / articles on the subject. And also quizzes are available to find out our brain dominance.
The study named - An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the journal PLOS One, found no evidence for significant differences in brain side dominance among individuals.

There are differences between the hemispheres though. We might not have a more dominant half  but in reality our brain split into two hemispheres, left and right.

Interestingly, left and right hemispheres are not the same. But they are highly similar and redundant. Most processes that we would find on the left side also take place on the right and vice-versa.
In their book neurologists Dr Alexander G Reeves and Dr Rand Swenson, Disorders of the Nervous System  quotes Dr Harold Wolff - one of the great brain scientists - as saying that both sides of the brain have

Dr Harold G Wolff

the capacity to express appropriate feelings, appetites and drives; the capacity [for] … learning, memory, logic, etc.; the capacity to maintain appropriate thresholds and tolerance for frustration and failure, and to recover promptly from their effects; the capacity to maintain effective and well-modulated defense reactions (i.e., repression, denying, pretending, rationalization, blaming, withdrawal, fantasy, depersonalization, obsessive-compulsive behavior and bodily reaction patterns involving alimentation, respiration, metabolism, etc.) 

It is obvious though we find our various pair organs / body parts have dominance, be it left nostril and right nostril, left ear and right ear, left eye and right or even left hand/leg and right hand/leg. Some of their dominance can be altered by practice.

I refer here the British Orthodox rabbi. philosopher, theologian, author and politician, Jonathan Henry Sacks talking on BBC Radio 4

What made Europe happen and made it so creative, is that Christianity was a right-brain religion … translated into a left-brain language [Greek]. So for many centuries you had this view that science and religion are essentially part of the same thing.

With metaphorical appeal, the seductive idea of the right brain and its untapped creative potential also has a long history of being targeted by self-help gurus peddling pseudo-psychology. The makers of self-improvement video games and apps pick the similar ideas. There are various applications are available in the net.

Then what is the truth to the left-brain right-brain myth ?! While they look alike, the two hemispheres of the brain do function differently. It has become known to most of people that left-brain is dominant for language. The right-brain, on the other hand, is implicated on emotional processing and representing the mental states of others. However the distinctions are not as clear as the myth makes out- for instance, the right hemisphere is involved in processing some aspects of language, such as intonation and emphasis.

The Theory of Left-Brain and Right-Brain

The theory is that people are either left-brained or right brained, meaning that one side of their brain is dominant or for the equally balanced can be said that both sides are dominant or there is no dominance at all.

The theory is based on the fact that the brain's two hemispheres function differently. In 1960s, psychologist and  Nobel Laureate Roger W Sperry highlighted the theory in his research paper. The left brain is more verbal, analytical and orderly than the right brain. It is also sometime called digital brain.

Now we know that the two sides of our brain are different but the question is, does it necessarily follow that we have a dominant brain just as we have a dominant hand ?

Again the research (named -An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging ) by a group of neuroscientists have an interesting answer. The study revealed that our brain does not actually favor one side over the other. The connectivity and networks on one side are not normally stronger than the other side.

The two hemispheres are connected together by nerve fibers, which create series of connectivity. It is

Photo by Sebastian Palomino on Unsplash

definite that the two sides function differently but they work together and complement each other. We do not use only one side of our brain at a time.

It is a comprehensive and analytical account basically concluding that the issue is much more complicated than a simple left-brain / right-brain classification.    
A few of the some more recent studies seem to be in denial. For example,

one highly publicized paper, summarized at The Guardian, failed to find evidence that individuals tend to have stronger left - or right sided brain networks. A new book by Stephen M Kosslyn and G Wayne Miller argues that the left/right brain distinction is bogus.      

In a further write up titled
Left Brain, Right Brain: Two Sides, Always Working Togetherthey very clearly proclaims,

And far from having separate lives, the two halves work together. They are not isolated systems that compete or engage in some kind of cerebral tug-of-war; one is not an undisciplined child, the other a spoilsport that throws schoolyard tantrums. Rather, as we have stressed, the brain is a single, marvelously complicated, and deeply integrated system. Like those of a well-maintained bicycle, the parts of the brain do have different functions—but, like the parts of a bike, they are designed to work together.  

Final Thought

Apart from being just an interesting observation this classification plays a key role in our personal lives. Be it with our life partner, immediate colleagues, Boss and subordinate or even with our children, if they are both left or both right brained. Otherwise, one half of a person's passionate interests would remain unaddressed leading to frustrations. loneliness and misunderstanding. By the same logic, a person who is equally balanced between the two brains would be truly happy in a relationship if she/he meets or works with a person who is similarly balanced.

However the question is - whether science would accept  the classification or not. But almost every one of us experiences extremities in relationship somewhere in our family life or in the work place etc. , which support the validation of classification into left and right brained people. And if we can able to determine our stand as a left-brained or right-brained, it would be helpful in selecting our academic path, profession and even life partner.