Your brain is capable of more than you might think
It is known that the right side of the brain specializes in more creative activities, and the left side concentrates on more analytical processes – something we call hemispheric specialization. However, does this mean that there are left-brained and right-brained people? Self-help books, online personality quizzes, and popular culture would have you believe that there are, suggesting that people use either the right or left hemisphere of their brain more than the other.
Recent scientific research conducted at the University of Utah led by Jeff Anderson, a professor of neuroradiology, focused on the lateralization of the brain as it pertains to personality. In August of 2013, University of Utah Health Care published a news release titled, “Research Debunks Myth of ‘Right-brain’ and ‘Left-brain’ Personality Traits,” outlining the thorough research methods used in the study. The news release explicitly discussed a study which claimed that no evidence was found to suggest that the network in one side of the brain is more connected than the other – revealing no proof for the theory of “left-dominant” or “right-dominant” personality types.
“It would be highly inefficient for one half of the brain to consistently be more active than the other,” stated Anderson in an interview for The Guardian.
Professor Daniel Meegan, an associate professor in the Psychology department at the University of Guelph, sat down for an interview last week to talk about the scientific aspects of the myth and why right-brain/left-brain hemispheric specialization is such a popular belief. Meegan specializes in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, which is the study of the neural basis in humans. Even though hemispheric specialization is not an area of focus for him, Meegan agreed with Anderson’s findings, explaining how we can examine the brain and the differences among people.
When looking at the brain, scientists look at structural differences, the anatomy of the brain, and functional differences, how we use our brain on a moment-by-moment basis. Different groups of people will show different patterns of brain activity when exposed to certain stimuli. The question at hand then becomes whether or not we would expect to see structural differences.
“If we can all perform a task, chances are we are going to perform it the same way [as far as things we see in the brain],” explained Meegan. “It just so happens that some people are better at it than others.”
Differences in behavior do not always lead to findings of differences on the neural level, which can be hard to explain when it comes to personality. Though everyone has strengths and weaknesses, assigning personality traits to fundamental neural differences is a “step too far.”
When asked what advice he would give to his students regarding the brain and how they could better benefit from their cognitive abilities, Meegan concluded, “People should never count themselves out, never think that they can’t learn a second language or a new skill or anything like that. The brain is like a muscle – it has the ability we call plasticity. It’s capable of change, modification, growth, and creating new connections between neurons.”
The fact of the matter is that the brain isn’t as straightforward as we sometimes perceive it to be. We find comfort in putting labels on things and people, categorizing them according to our understanding. However, the brain is dynamic. It is constantly being shaped and changed by both our surroundings, and how we nurture and exercise it. So what happens when someone is told that they cannot be more creative due to their “personality type?” By assigning labels such as “left-brained” and “right-brained,” we could be limiting others and ourselves, allowing a myth to influence our way of thinking, and underestimating our potential.