Jasmine: Hi, I'm Jasmine.
Chrissy: I'm Chrissy.
Jasmine: We're from NIU STEAM and...
Chrissy: You're listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ.
Jasmine: We are excited to be back answering STEAM related questions. Today, we have a question from Lindsay who asks if "...the whole right brained/left brained thing is fact or fiction?"
Chrissy: The human brain is anatomically separated into two hemispheres and there is a popular belief that individuals who behave logically are mainly influenced by the left-hemisphere of their brain. Those who are partial to creativity and emotion are driven by the right.
Jasmine: It is true that different functions and systems of the human body are governed by different halves of the brain. For example, the left limbs of your body are controlled by the right-hemisphere of your brain. The movement of your right limbs is controlled by the left. This is seen in other parts of the body, so there is something to the idea that the different hemispheres are responsible for actions specific to their location.
Chrissy: The idea that our personalities govern the side of the brain we are most partial to likely began with the release of a novel in 1886. 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' explores the idea that we all have good and evil aspects to our personality. Though a potion was used to pivot the main character between his two selves, the thought of personality governing the mind was born.
Jasmine: This is where the story ends though. Research has shown that there is no evidence to truly support the notion of "sidedness". A study conducted at the University of Utah used the brain scans of 1000 participants where 7000 data "regions" were observed. Neural activity was used to determine if age, gender, or personality influenced a preference of which hemisphere of the brain was most used. For now, the idea of sidedness and personality is just a myth.
Chrissy: You've been listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day.
