The Brain

Left Hemisphere vs. Right Hemisphere

Vocab: Hemisphere

• Hemi = Half (Greek)

• Sphere = Circle

• Hemisphere= half of a sphere or circle

• What else has hemispheres?

Left/Right Hemisphere Specialization

LEFT• Analytic thought

– Step by step process

• Logic– Conclusions based upon a

logical or consecutive order

• Language– Using words to

name/describe/define

• Math & Science– Number use, awareness of

time, symbols, facts & linear reasoning

RIGHT• Spatial Reasoning• Face Recognition• Intuition

– Insight based upon incomplete patterns or “hunches”

• Creativity– Demonstrative with minimal

word use, understanding relationships

• Art & Music– Putting pieces together to form

“wholes”

Left/Right Hemisphere Specialization

LEFT RIGHT

Say the COLOR not the word

PURPLE

GREEN YELLOW

BLUE REDORANGE

Hemispheres Crisscross

Information received from one side of the body is transmitted to the opposite

hemisphere.

Left Brained or Right Brained?• People often believe they are

either right or left brained– “I’m right brained because I’m

creative”

BUT your Brain works best when the 2 hemispheres

work together

Left & Right: Working Together

• Both hemispheres can:• analyze sensory data • perform memory functions • learn new information • form thoughts• make decisions

• The way you use these abilities determines a large part of your personality and behavior

Left & Right: Working Together• By the time we, are two years old, one

hemisphere begins to dominate decision-making processes

• Communication between the two halves is possible due to the corpus callosum and this process continues to improve until the age of 15

Corpus Callosum

• Connects the two hemispheres of the brain– Significantly larger in

musicians– Slightly larger in left

handed people– The bridge of the brain

Split-Brain Operations

• The corpus callosum is cut• Helps people who suffer from severe

epilepsy – They have severe seizures – Cutting the corpus callosum prevents the

seizures from spreading, reducing the severity

BUT the surgery has some subtle effects on functioning…

After Split-Brain Operations

• If a patient is holding an object in their right hand and asked to describe it they can

• But if they have an object in their left hand they have a hard time explaining what the object is

WHY Do you think this is?

Ways to Study the Brain• Accidents

– Phineas Gage– Plasticity: brain’s ability to reorganize information

• If one area of the brain is damaged, other areas in time, may reorganize and take over functions of the damaged area

Ways to Study the Brain

• Electrical Stimulation of the Brain• Electroencephalogram (EEG)

– A device that records the

electrical activity of the brain

• Scans– CAT Scans– MRI

More Ways To Study The Brain

• Get into groups of four– The groups you were in to build the brain models

• Each group will receive a topic from section 2• Create a poster with key terms and facts• Present to the class