- Uses feeling
- The “big picture”
- Oriented Imagination
- Rules
- Symbols and Images
- Present and Future
- Philosophy and Religion
- Can understand the meaning of something
- Believing
- Appreciating
- Risk Taking
(viewzone.com)
People who use the right brain often act in the ways. They tend to be more fantasy based and present more possibilities. They act more impulsive than the people who use the right side. In an experiment with children, most ranked highly creative (use of right brain) before entering school. But since our schools focus more on math, logic and language (left brain functions), only ten percent of these same children will rank highly creative by the age of seven unless their focus is more on drawing and imagination.
The table below by Ehrenwald briefly lists some more right brain attributes.
Source: Ehrenwald (1984: 16)
The Left Hemisphere
The left hemisphere is the center for our language ability and the way we express ourselves, meaning that people who have difficulties expressing themselves properly most likely have some kind of damage to the left side of their brain. The left hemisphere of the brain is under active in dyslexic people. It controls our logic, our reasoning, and our analytical thought processes. The left side can focus on details; however it has difficulty comprehending the whole picture. In over 95% of right-handed people the left hemisphere is dominant for speech, while it’s 70% for left-handed people.
Left hemisphere ability is the predominant focus in school and society. For instance, when left-brain students read or listen, they look for pieces so that they can draw logical conclusions. They have no problem comprehending or expression oral or written language and they have little trouble expressing themselves in words. Studies have shown that “if the left hemisphere is under activated or has been damaged due to injury, people will be depressed, have no drive and generally feel miserable. Even minor excitements will lead to anxieties and panic” (Eterna). The left hemisphere also controls the muscles on the right side of our body and our physical ability. The table below by Ehrenwald briefly lists the left brain attributes.
General Left brain attributes
Source: Ehrenwald (1984: 16)
In general left side dominant people often are future oriented, and they like to be in leadership roles and high management positions. “They are task oriented, result oriented, like to work with a list of things to be done. In order to be happy, they need success and recognition, but also order and structure. They have a very rigid vision of their own identity and their goals” (Eterna).
Frontal lobe
Parcellation; “is the process of dividing the brain into different regions” (Allen 247). There are many ways to divide up the brain depending on the goal of the research. Three common methods of parcellation are MRI, structural and anatomical. MRI parcellation “uses visible […] landmarks […] on the surface of the brain to create regions of interest” (Allen 247). Structural parcellation would include all of the lobes. Anatomical is the division of brain according to “specific brain activities” (Allen 247).
The definition of the Frontal lobe is the portion of the cerebral cortex that lies in front of the central fissure. Taking up approximately 38% of the hemisphere, the frontal lobe is the largest of all lobes. The frontal lobe is in charge of many important functions for humans. Two major motor functions are located in the frontal lobe. These two functions work together and without one the other would suffer. The first part is Broca’s area, which is in charge of “speech production, specifically assessing syntax of words while listening, and comprehending structural complexity” (Gray 1994). Paul Pierre Broca founded Broca’s area in 1861. The second one is the Primary motor cortex, which controls body movements.
The frontal lobe is located in the front closest to the face, thus making it very vulnerable to injuries. Damage to the frontal lobe can affect many functions located there but that does not mean you will lose all of those functions. Some problems from damage to the frontal lobe include attention disorder, poor memory, reduced activity, lack of drive, inability to plan ahead and lack of concern. Damage to Broca’s area will impair the ability to speak. This condition is called Broca’s aphasia, which makes the patient have bad grammar and struggle to talk. For example, when a patient with Broca’s aphasia was “asked to describe a picture of a girl giving flowers to her teacher, [the patient said,] Girl…wants to…flowers…flowers and wants to….The woman wants to….The girls wants to…the flowers and the women” (qtd.in Baron 65). This shows that people suffering from Broca’s aphasia have a hard time finding the words they want and then pronouncing them. Other parts of your brain can make up for the damaged frontal lobe even if they would normally not perform that function.
A recent study shows that the drug Amantadine can help to improve frontal lobe syndrome. The 30 patients were all given 200 mg a day of Amantadine. Out of those 30 patients 57% greatly improved and none worsened on the drug. There were also 76% taken off the drug because the clinicians believed the patient had benefited from the drug. Only 3 patients had side effects but were not major.
Midbrain
The midbrain, though small, is an important part in the brain. The midbrain is only 2 centimeter long and connects the forebrain to the hindbrain. It also forms a part of the brainstem and it is also responsible for controlling sensory processes, for example vision and movement.
If the midbrain was to be impaired in the core the end result would either be the loss of consciousness or coma. Some of the functions that are controlled in the midbrain are the visual system reflexes, auditory system function, voluntary motor function, and normal motor function. These are all unconsciousness body functions that help us with our daily lives.
Hindbrain
The Hindbrain is a portion of the brain that lies just inside the skull and is a continuation of the spinal cord. Incoming signals that are sent from the spinal cord reach the hindbrain first; from there different signals disperse to different areas of the brain. The hindbrain contains three main sections: the medulla, reticular formation and the cerebellum.
The Medulla: this portion controls many of our body’s autonomic functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure and breathing.
Reticular formation: located at the core of the brainstem, the reticular formation is a mesh-like collection of nuclei cells that mainly controls arousal and attention. These cells receive input from the body’s sensory systems such as sight, smell and taste. The brain has fibers that rise to form a network called the reticular activating system which influences assertiveness and wakefulness. Some of these fibers carry pain signals from the spinal cord that connect in the reticular formation and immediately arouse the brain from sleep.
Cerebellum: located at the base of the brain and is a walnut shaped structure that is responsible for motor co-ordination, posture and maintaining equilibrium. For several years it was thought to primarily control finely coordinated movements, such as threading needles. Now it also allows for the eyes to track moving objects or targets accurately. It is also thought to be a storage house for well-rehearsed movements, such as dance steps, playing musical instruments and athletics. Since the cerebellum is heavily involved in the balance and coordination for walking and other motor skills, alcohol directly impairs the cerebellum and disrupts these skills.
Works Cited
Allen, John S., Joel Bruss, and Hanna Damasio. “The Structure of the Human Brain.” American Scientist 92 (2004): 246-253.
Baron, Robert A. Essentials of Psychology Third Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2002.
Drayton SJ, Davies K, Steinberg M. “Amantadine for executive dysfunction syndrome in patients with dementia.” Psychosamatics. 45.3 (2004): 205-209.
Ehrenwald, Jan. “Anatomy of genius: split brains and global minds”. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 1984
Eterna Management S. L. “Balance Your Brain Hemispheres” Biofeedback und alternative Medizinisches. International PcE® Network Oct. 27 2004.
< http://www.ipn.at/ipn.asp?BGC>
Gray, Peter. “Broca’s Area.” Psychology (1994): 24 Oct. 2004
<http://web.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/Dictionary/contents/B/brocas_area.html>.
Left Brain: Right Brain. http://www.viewzone.com/bicam.html
Split Brain Conscientiousness. Specialization of the two Hemispheres.
<http:// www.MacAliter.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Split_Brain.html>
Thimble, Michael H. “Psychopathology of Frontal Lobe Syndromes.” From Seminars in Neurology 10.3 (1990): 22 Oct. 2004 <http://www.ect.org/effects/lobe.html>
