Left Brain, Right Brain the Human Brain

Left Brain, Right Brain

The human brain is one of the most complex organs of the body. In vertebrate animals, it is the central focus of the neural system and is responsible for the control and interpretation of the senses = of vision, bearing taste and balance. The brain helps us maintain balance, allows us to think past the "now," and to positive probably futures and ways of reaching that goal. Using complex chemical messages called neurotransmitters, part of the brain also controls a more central, sometimes speedier, coordinated response to the environment (breathing, sweating, itching, etc., Yet, while in the last several decades, we know more and more about the universe, the deepest parts of the ocean, and other scientific phenomena than we do about the complex nature of the brain. The brain itself is quite complex; consisting of six major regions, but needs constantly creative reinforcement or it will quickly fail.

One part of the brain, the temporal lobe, is a region of the cerebral cortex that is located in a position that it is shared with both hemispheres. While this portion of the brain is responsible for semantics and auditory processing, the idea of a template that hoses different aspects of the way we handle information is known as the Left and Right Hemisphere Theory. . Each of these hemispheres has an outer layer of grey matter called the cerbral cortex, and an inner layer of ivory matter. The two sides of the hemispheres are linked by a large bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum and others, which transfer information between the two hemispheres. Scholars believe that the differing hemispheres of the brain tend to focus upon differing behaviors in the normal adult brain. However, the brain is a marvelously robust organ, and seems to find new paths and ways of completing needed tasks by reassigning and reallocating cells to specific functions. For instance, a study at the University of Munster in Germany found that when musicians listen to a piano playing, about 25% more of their left-hemisphere auditory regions respond than do so in nonmusicians. This effect is specific to musical tones and does not occur with similar but nonmusical sounds. Moreover, the authors found that this expansion of response area is greater the younger the age at which lessons began. Studies of children suggest that early musical experience may facilitate development (Naataen, 1992, 202-220).

One way to view the human brain is like the hub of a vast highway of nerves. On one side, the left hemisphere of the brain helps organize our thoughts logically, sequence time, and utilize language. One the right hemisphere, the brain manages spatial organization, certain kinds of intuition and prescient thought, some mathematical computations, and the ability to share and create complex thoughts by taking previous information and building upon it. Looking from back to front, we would see that the rear portion of the brain is the main library -- it houses knowledge, experience, and definitions of the world. The library, however, the place that actually makes individual determinations on how to use information, is located near the frontal lobes. The third view of our brain moves from the neck to the top of the scalp (bottom to top). At the bottom is the brain stem (the spinal column, base of the brain). Then we have the limbic system, whose job is to act as a general interpreter of all the data coming in -- and deciding what to do with that data (e.g. danger, help, harm, information, etc. Limbic "conductors" chemically broadcast the unique interpretation of all this stimuli throughout the body. Then, depending on its decision, opens or closes access to higher brain function (Vail, 2010).