Right-brained? Left-brained?

The Fact is: The two sides of your brain depend on each other.
The myth that right-brain individuals are more creative or artsy and left-brain individuals are more logical and linear originated from legitimate science. While this was previously a scientific believe, new imaging technology has led to a discovery that the two sides of the brain are actually more interdependent than previously assumed.

It is believed that this myth originated back in the early 1800s when scientists noted that when an individual suffered an injury to one side of the brain, specific abilities were lost following the injury. Throughout the 1960s the brain myth was further strengthened when scientists began studying epilepsy patients who underwent surgeries to sever the connection between the left and right hemispheres in the brain. These studies discovered that the two hemispheres would be unaware of each other and unable to communicate when they were separated. In fact, when subjected to different stimuli, each hemisphere responded differently.

To illustrate this point, when one patient was asked what he wanted to do, his left brain responded with "draftsman" but his right brain with "automobile racer."

Contrary to popular believe and prior research, the left and right hemispheres in the brain are not as cut-and-dry as we thought. Brain scan technology has shed some light on the fact that the two hemispheres are actually quite complementary. Recent research has shown that functions and processes we thought took place in one hemisphere only, actually take place in both, such as language processing which was previously thought to have occurred in the left side only.

Furthermore, research and experiments have discovered that the right brain hemisphere doesn’t work independently of the left when it comes to space. In terms of spatial abilities, the right side processes your general sense of space and your left side handles specific locations and objects.

There is still a correlation between the sides of the brain and the sides of the body. Your left side of your brain controls the right side of your body and the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. As a result of this brain and body relationship with regards to sides, if an individual suffers an injury to a particular side of the brain then the opposite side of the body will be impacted. For example, a left-hemisphere stroke can cause paralysis in the right leg.