The brain is one of the most fascinating organs of the human body. It carries out multiple functions and is responsible for our breathing, movements, speech, and, of course, thinking. A huge number of scientists and researchers are focused on studying functions, features, and capacities of the human brain. This way, neuroscience can be called a study where the brain researches itself. The contemporary science has collected a great deal of information about the human brain. The functionality of our brain is so huge that there are several different kinds of scientists studying it: psychologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists.
Even though the human brain today is very well-researched, the untrue commonly believed facts about it still exist. For example, many people grew up convinced that there are right and left-brained individuals, classical music played for the babies makes them smarter, or that we use only ten percent of our brain. Everyone has faced these myths at least once in their lives. Besides, there are sources that keep maintaining these myths for the public.
For instance, some of the Hollywood films released not so long ago are based on the belief that we only use ten percent of our brains. Good examples of such films are “Limitless” and “Lucy,” featuring Bradley Cooper and Scarlett Johansson accordingly. The popularity of these movies may create a significant impact on the number of individuals taking such myths for granted.
Outbrain contains around one hundred billion neurons, and it is constantly busy juts because it controls the processes in our body that never stop. Our brain is active all the time, when we think, when we meditate, sleep, or lie unconscious. Some of the parts of our brain function more actively than others. At the same time, none of the areas of our brain are constantly passive.
When someone makes a statement about people being divided into left-brained and right-brained individuals, this person should be informed about the constant communication that the hemispheres of our brain engage into. Outbrain truly contains two hemispheres – right and left, and they are responsible for different functions in our bodies. This was tested on split-brain patients whose corpus callosum no longer functions. Corpus callosum is a part of the brain situated under the cortex. It is a gathering of neural fibers responsible for the communication between the cerebral hemispheres.
When the communication is stopped, the patients start to experience difficulties naming the objects they cannot see when they touch them with their left hand (Animations: Split-Brain Functioning, part 2 par. 1). This happens because the information about the objects we hold in our right hand is processed by the left hemisphere, which is responsible for speech.
The information about objects we touch with our left-hand goes straight to the right hemisphere, for our brain to be able to verbalize the names of the objects the information needs to be transmitted to the left hemisphere. Yet, when corpus callosum does not work, such communication becomes impossible, and the patient cannot name an object in their left hand. This way, if left-brained and right-brained individuals existed, their body functions would be rather limited.
In conclusion, the beliefs about ten percent of our brain left and right-brained people or other similar statements are pure myths that have been successfully disproved by scientists. Making such statements is ignorant and incorrect.
Works Cited
Animations: Split-Brain Functioning, part 2. Psychology. Web.