Brain Lateralization: Half a Mind?

A Position Paper

Presented to

The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences

West Visayas State University

La Paz, Iloilo City

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Theories of

Language and Language Acquisition

(ELS 202)

Submitted by:

Sunga, Iannah Faith O.

March 14, 2024

 Brain lateralization, is the theory that the left and right hemispheres of the brain
are specialized for various tasks and have separate purposes. According to this theory,
although the two hemispheres of the brain work together to accomplish most tasks,
each hemisphere is responsible for certain skills and functions.
Most people are thought to be left brain dominant, when they are proficient in language
processing and analytical thought. The left brain hemisphere is said to be related to
verbal information processing, mathematical reasoning, and logical reasoning. In
contrast, the right hemisphere is more frequently linked to creative thinking, intuition,
spatial skills, and holistic thoughts. People that are right brain dominant are said to do
particularly well in activities requiring emotional processing, spatial awareness, and
pattern recognition. The right hemisphere is also thought to be important for processing
nonverbal clues and comprehending language metaphors and emotions.

Although these stereotypes are widely acknowledged, it's crucial to remember

that the brain is complex, intricate, and it differs from person to person. According to
certain research, lateralization can vary with time, and many tasks that were previously
thought to be exclusively the domain of one hemisphere may in fact include both
hemispheres to some degree. These classifications are also restrictive and could no
longer be accurate, even though they may help us understand one another and
ourselves better. Several other research has disproved the concept of the left vs right
brain.

In a recent study by Nielsen and a group of neuroscience researchers in 2013,

they have discredited the aforementioned theory. According to their study, although
specific brain regions are lateralized for particular skills such as language and
visuospatial processing, there may not be a clear dominance of the left or right brain in
terms of network strength among individuals. For every pair of brain regions, the
researchers examined lateralization using neuroimaging data from over 1000
participants, ranging in age 7 to 29. They discovered that whereas individual tasks that
include language and attention regulation cause lateralization in some regions of the
brain, the overall pattern of lateralization is more intricate. They specifically discovered
distinct networks of regions that are left- and right-lateralized, indicating that
lateralization is a local as opposed to an overall characteristic of brain networks. Gender
differences were not seen in the age-related increases in lateralization.

Further study has also revealed that the brain is far more remarkable than
previously believed. It is always adjusting to changes, rearranging itself, and picking up
new skills from its experiences and interactions with the outside world. Through a
process known as neuroplasticity, our brain is capable of totally reprogramming itself
even in cases of severe injury. In a study by Fuchs and Flügge entitled, “Adult
Neuroplasticity: More Than 40 Years of Research'', different circumstances, such as
medicines, nutrition, hormones, stress, or sensory inputs, can cause significant
differences in neuronal structures and functions. These factors can also cause changes
in brain region morphology, changes in cell morphology, modifications to networks
including altered neuronal connections, neurogenesis or the production of new neurons,
and neurochemical changes. In addition, according to a clinical study, the brains of
infants who experienced a major stroke within days of birth to the left hemisphere of
the brain were sufficiently "plastic" to allow the right hemisphere to acquire language
abilities normally handled by the left side while also retaining its own language abilities.

In addition to helping us better understand other people and the outside world,
personality tests and labels can facilitate interpersonal connections. By classifying
ourselves according to the dominant hemisphere of our brains, we can feel secure in
the knowledge that we have a distinct personality type that can both explain and
forecast our past behavior. We are all different, even if some people think more logically
or artistically than others. Our brains' two halves are always collaborating, learning, and
becoming into the best possible versions of ourselves.
References:
● Nielsen, J. A., Zielinski, B. A., Ferguson, M. A., Lainhart, J. E., & Anderson,
J. S. (2013, August 14). An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain
Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance
Imaging. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e71275.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071275
● Fuchs, E., & Flügge, G. (2014, May 4). Adult Neuroplasticity: More Than 40
Years of Research. Neural Plasticity, 2014, Article 541870.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/541870
● Georgetown University Medical Center. (2022, October 10). After stroke in
an infant's brain, right side of brain compensates for loss of language in
left side. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221010161229.htm