Left Brain VS Right Brain: Here's everything you need to know

The brain controls our thoughts, memory, speech, movement and more. Read on to know which part of the brain controls different bodily functions.

Updated on Jun 17, 2020  |  12:57 PM IST |  3.2M
Left Brain VS Right Brain: Here's everything you need to know
Left Brain VS Right Brain: Here's everything you need to know

You must have heard numerous times in movies or read in books that you are more of a right-brain or left-brain thinker. But what exactly does this mean? It is believed that you are either left-brained or right-brained, meaning that one side of the brain is dominant. Someone who is left-brain thinker is analytical and creative and artistic people are believed to be right-brained. 

In this article, we aim to clarify what do these terms mean and the logic behind the theory. According to the theory, one side of the brain controls different types of thinking. To understand that, you need to know how the human brain works. It is an intricate organ with about 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections. It is the centre of how you behave, think, do things and more. 

It is divided into two hemispheres, each responsible to control certain bodily functions. They look similar but are very different. 

Here is the difference between the left and right brain. 

The left and right brain are connected with nerve fibres that are responsible for controlling the overall functioning of the whole body. If the connection between the two sides is disrupted, your body will be able to function but with some impairments. 

Left/ Right Brain Theory 

The theory of the right and left brain was first introduced in the 1960s that emphasize the fact that the brain’s two parts function differently. 

The Right Brain 

Considered the more intuitive side, the right brain is also called the “analog brain.” It is the creative side of the brain responsible for imagination, intuition, daydreaming, visualization, understanding art and music. 

The Left Brain

This side of the brain is responsible for logical, analytical thinking and understanding language. The left brain is better at critical thinking, reading, reasoning and computations. 

The truth 

According to research published in PLOS One, there are two distinct sides of the brain but there is no such thing as a dominant brain. The two hemispheres of the brain work together to enable a human to perform all bodily functions. 

In order to fully comprehend the meaning of things, both sides of the brain need to function properly. The research found that the inputs are received from both sides of the brain. And the idea of being left-brained or right-brained is more a figure of speech than a fact. 

So, if you are taking quizzes online to see which part of your brain functions better, you might want to reconsider. There is no harm doing it for fun but don’t depend on it. 

Credits: healthline, journals.plos.org, getty

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