BRAIN HEMISPHERES

HOW ARE MY TWO HEMISPHERES CONNECTED?  By the CORPUS CALLOSUM  network of nerve fibers that relays information between the two hemispheres  It’s how your two sides communicate

HOW IS MY NERVOUS SYSTEM CONNECTED TO MY BRAIN?  All the nerves in your body crisscross over the MEDULLA OBLONGATA (brainstem structure) & connect to opposite sides of the brain  Left hemisphere controls most motor skills on right side of body; right controls left

LEFT BRAIN VS. RIGHT BRAIN LEFT  language skills (verbal & written)  more analytical & logical  details are necessary to understand a whole concept *Left-handed people are opposite of this! RIGHT  non-verbal skills such as spatial & visual abilities (maps, geometry, recognizing faces, etc.)  more creative and focuses on a global approach to concepts  make sense of details after the fact)

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH SIDE OF MY BRAIN IS STRONGEST?  CEREBRAL DOMINANCE  strength in one hemisphere’s abilities  You are either a strong “left-brain person” or a strong “right-brain person”

WHAT HAPPENS IF A PART OF MY BRAIN BECOMES DAMAGED?  Left-hemisphere damage  language & logic problems  Right-hemisphere damage  perception & attention problems, including difficulties with spatial orientation

WHAT ARE SPLIT-BRAIN PATIENTS?  SPLIT-BRAIN PATIENTS– brain has been surgically “split” by cutting the corpus callosum (to reduce seizures)