Split brain

If you search on Google for 'left brain and right brain,' you'll find many images suggesting that the left brain handles reason and logic, while the right brain deals with creativity. Is this really true?

Certainly, we can divide the brain into two parts commonly known as the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. We can also add that certain brain areas become very skilled at performing specific tasks. For example, it's widely known that the brain area responsible for language production is located on the left side.

So, it's possible to define a range of abilities for which one hemisphere excels over the other. Often, on the left side, we find abilities like reading, writing, mathematical calculations, and assigning meanings (which is why this hemisphere is referred to as dominant). On the other hand, on the right side, we find abilities related to perception and understanding space (distances and directions).

Here's an interesting tidbit: Due to the organization of our brain, the left hemisphere primarily controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. This isn't a problem because the two hemispheres communicate with each other. But what happens if they can't communicate? We encounter a situation known as split-brain.

What occurs when a split-brain individual is asked to name an object presented to their right? They should be able to name it since the right side is governed by the left hemisphere, which as we mentioned, is skilled in speech and retrieving verbal information from memory.

And what happens if the same object is presented to the left? In this case, the subject might say they don't see it or describe it without naming it. However, this doesn't mean they didn't recognize it; they know what it is, but they can't retrieve the name from memory.

Sources:
- Kandel, E. (2000) - Principles of neural science.

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