Brain Hemisphere Functions

If you're gifted at painting landscapes but struggle to solve mathematical problems, chances are, the right side of your brain is stronger than the left side. On the other hand, if you attack problems using logic more than feelings, it's likely you're more of a left-brain person. Various pet designations, ranging from "thinkers" and "artists" to "male" and "female" brains, have been linked with people who are either left-brain or right-brain. However the right and left hemispheres also work together, and need each other for the brain to operate effectively.

Identification

• The brain is divided into two sides, or hemispheres: a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere. Each hemisphere contains a thick outer layer, called the corpus callosum, which also divides the two sides and is made up of millions of nerve fibers. Although the two hemispheres look almost identical, they have different roles. While the right hemisphere deals with feelings and aesthetics, the left hemisphere approaches problems logically and accurately.

Right Brain Functions

• The right brain hemisphere processes information from the whole to the parts. In other words, it sees the "big picture" before the details. It's the part of the brain that deals with subjective skills and creative abilities. This hemisphere of the brain helps solve problems via hunches, examining patterns and similarities. Rather than working in a planned way, people who are more right-brain are spontaneous, preferring indefinable information that's uncertain.

Left Brain Functions

• The left brain hemisphere processes information from parts to the whole, taking pieces of data in an orderly arrangement before drawing conclusions. It's the side of the brain that functions in rational thinking, rather than intuition. This left side of the brain works with definite and established information, solving problems logically and sequentially. Left-brain people examine parts and analyze differences. Leading planned and structured existences, they do better at multiple-choice tests than essays.

Finding a Dominant Side

• Instead of having equal right and left brain hemispheres, most people have a dominant side. In other words, one side of the brain is usually stronger than the other side. Typically, the dominant hemisphere is the left side for right-handed people. Many people who have a dominant right hemisphere are left-handed and male, according to The Cornell Illustrated Encyclopedia of Health. If you're not sure which side of your brain is stronger, you can determine your dominant side by taking tests like the Hemisphere Dominance Inventory Test.

How the Two Hemispheres Work Together

• Each side of the brain controls the muscles of the other side. For example, information from the brain's right side crosses over to the left side. That's why, when one hemisphere is damaged, the other one is also affected. The corpus callosum allows the two hemispheres to communicate with each other by transmitting messages back and forth between the right and left hemispheres.

Misconceptions and Warning

• Although people are sometimes called right-brained or left-brained, no one is totally right-brain or left-brain. Generally people use their dominant side for processing information. However, the process of learning and thinking is improved when both sides of the brain are involved in problem solving. Therefore, it's helpful to give more attention to the thinking style that is less dominant.