The human brain is incredibly complex, housing a forest of neuronal connections that make consciousness possible. Many people often refer to the brain as right-sided and left-sided, and there is truth to the claim. Whilst the brain looks similar on the surface, it is asymmetrical in nature; the left side of the brain performs and is responsible for different functions compared to the right. The asymmetrical function is also known as lateralisation.
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenThe human brain is incredibly complex, housing a forest of neuronal connections that make consciousness possible. Many people often refer to the brain as right-sided and left-sided, and there is truth to the claim. Whilst the brain looks similar on the surface, it is asymmetrical in nature; the left side of the brain performs and is responsible for different functions compared to the right. The asymmetrical function is also known as lateralisation.
Hemispheric lateralisation refers to the brain and hemispheres. We can define hemispheric lateralisation as:
Hemispheric lateralisation is where brain functions are performed by one hemisphere more so than the other. The brain's hemispheres are asymmetrical and specialise in certain processes; the right and left hemispheres differ in function and structure.
The brain has two hemispheres, the right and left, connected by the corpus callosum (a thick mass of around 300 million nerve fibres), allowing them to communicate. Certain functions are localised to the hemispheres, and either hemisphere may perform more efficiently with different processes when compared to the other.
For example, Broca's and Wernicke's areas specialise in language comprehension and speech production. They reside in the left hemisphere of the brain.
It's important to remember that the brain operates contralaterally. We mean by contralaterally that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa.
As we mentioned above, the corpus callosum connects the left and right hemispheres and allows them to communicate. When we sever the corpus callosum and disrupt the connection, the brain cannot share information from one hemisphere to another.
Sperry (1968) researched to investigate the effects of severing the corpus callosum, i.e. cutting off the communication between the right and left hemispheres. Although the surgery was performed to help those with epilepsy originally, it had interesting side effects on participants' ability to communicate what they saw and felt.
Namely, patients struggled to communicate what they saw if items or images were presented to their left or right visual fields, as well as interpret their sense of touch using their left or right hand, depending on the task the researcher wanted them to complete.
For example, If they were shown a word in their left visual field, the information would pass to the right hemisphere and not the left hemisphere, which specialises in language and speech production and communication. The patients struggled to communicate what they saw as a result.
The left hemisphere is involved in controlling the right side of the body, although both hemispheres constantly communicate with one another to ensure information is processed correctly. Pinpointing the exact locations of functions is difficult, but we can generally estimate where functions are occurring based on neuroimaging techniques.
Seeing a car in your left visual field coming towards you will be communicated to the right hemisphere and then sent to the left hemisphere.
The role of the left hemisphere includes:
The illustration below highlights the roles of the hemispheres!
The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, the opposite of the left hemisphere. It also specialises in certain functions; the role of the right hemisphere includes:
Now that we know what lateralisation is in psychology and the roles of the hemispheres, we can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of lateralisation as an explanation of sex differences between males and females. Physical differences exist between males and females, which can allude to distinctions between the behaviour of the sexes and cognitive function and ability.
Let's explore some of the supporting evidence for differences in the sexes.
Let's explore the research that disputes the lateralisation differences in sexes.
Brain lateralisation is where brain functions are performed by one hemisphere more so than the other. The brain's hemispheres are asymmetrical and specialise in certain processes; the right and left hemispheres differ in function and structure.
An example of lateralisation can be seen in Broca's and Wernicke's areas, the language regions of the brain involved in speech production and comprehension, which respectively reside in the left hemisphere.
Lateralisation of function in psychology refers to the hemisphere differences in specialised areas of function; the left hemisphere specialises in language, for instance, and the right hemisphere specialises in spatial awareness and creative skills, an example of lateralisation of function.
Brain lateralisation helps divide tasks for specialisation, freeing up other brain areas to perform additional tasks simultaneously. Essentially, we have increased brain capacity because of lateralisation.
Lateralisation affects both the structure and function of the brain, as hemispheres specialise in functions.
What is hemispheric lateralisation?
Hemispheric lateralisation is where brain functions are performed by one hemisphere more so than the other. The brain's hemispheres are asymmetrical and specialise in certain processes; the right and left hemispheres differ in function and structure.
The brain has __ hemispheres.
two
What is the corpus callosum?
The corpus callosum is a thick mass of around 300 million nerve fibres which allows the hemispheres of the brain to communicate
What happens when we sever the corpus callosum?
When we sever the corpus callosum and disrupt the connection, the brain cannot communicate information from one hemisphere to another.
_____ (1968) conducted research to investigate the effects of severing the corpus callosum.
Sperry
What did Sperry (1968) find?
They found that patients struggled to communicate what they were seeing if items or images were presented to their left or right visual fields, as well as interpreting their sense of touch using their left or right hand, depending on the task the researcher wanted them to complete after the corpus callosum was severed.
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