The Right Side of the Brain

Introduction

By analyzing the anatomy of the brain, it’s easy to conclude that its most striking features are the two symmetrical parts, i.e. hemispheres of the brain. The two hemispheres are frequently referred to as the left side of the brain (responsible for language, learning, and logic), and the right side of the brain (responsible for our artistic inclination and emotions).

What Is Brain Lateralization?

Even though the left hemisphere of the brain is seemingly identical to the right hemisphere, these two parts of the brain carry out different, yet coordinated functions. Each of the brain hemispheres controls specific centers for the regulation of various functions and behavior, which are located in a corresponding part of the brain.

Lateralization happens when certain brain functions occur only in one of the brain hemispheres. So, while the left brain is considered to be more creative and artistic, the right brain is considered as more organized and logical.

What Does the Right Side of Brain Control?

The right side of the brain controls many of our thoughts and actions. It controls a person’s emotional, intellectual, rational, and physical skills.

A person with a dominant right side of the brain is often considered to be a more artistic, dreamy, arts-and-sports oriented person. This is because the right part of the brain is more effective at processing non-verbal visual and spatial brain signals.

In fact, the right side of the brain processes the meaning behind how things work, i.e. it governs curiosity and logical reasoning.

It also coordinates and controls the following aspects:

The left side of the body – or, that is, the motor skills of the left side of the body. The left hemisphere of the brain and the right hemisphere of the brain work in opposite ways. The right part of the brain controls the movement of the left side of the body, and vice versa.

Right-brained people generally tend to work more with their left hand, put their left foot forward first, and write with their left hand, too.

Creativity – use of imagination to create original works, inventiveness. Even though people are born with the natural ability to create, some are more creative than others.

Their motivation comes in the form of an internal desire to creatively solve a problem, which brings them the ultimate satisfaction.

Imagination – creating fictional stories, visualizing concepts. The right part of the brain presents a widespread neural network where the symbols, images, ideas, and theories are consciously processed and given shape according to the individual’s concept.

Insight – a capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of a concept. The higher socio-cognitive functions are also processed in the right side of the brain. This part of the brain both controls and forms our ability to understand immediately without conscious reasoning.

To put it simply, the right side of the brain is responsible for the ‘gut feeling’ a person has in regard to the rightness or wrongness of a person, place, situation, or object.

Artistic skills – the ability to explore, experiment, and push past the bounds of convention. Artists have different brains than non-artistic persons. Their artistic talent is most certainly controlled by the center located in the right side of the brain, since it’s the visual part of the brain.

The right hemisphere is also responsible for conducting the neurological impulses which trigger the creative processes.

Musical skills – the ability to create and reproduce music patterns. Being an expressive and creative realm, the right side of the brain also coordinates and controls musical structure and motor skills, such as playing the guitar, as well as the creation and production of melodic patterns.

The brain develops according to the intellectual information we expose it to, and even though learning how to play an instrument happens in the left brain hemisphere, ear-learning is a right-brain skill.

Spatial orientation and movement – The right side of the brain also enables us to move in the physical space that surrounds us by an innate sense of direction.

This particular ability is called spatial orientation. Without it, we would never be able to find our way back home, read the map, navigate or adapt to our surroundings.

Processing visual shapes and patterns – recognizing visual patterns. The properties of an object, such as its shape and color, are processed in a section of the right part of the brain responsible for detecting and discriminating objects.

With the help of these neurological processes active in the right brain hemisphere, we can easily recognize faces, geometric shapes, colors, etc.

Attention – the power of focusing/concentrating on something. The right side of the brain controls the ability to pay attention during a certain process, activity, or to focus on an object or person. Being the center of non-verbal visual-spatial functions, the right hemisphere helps us recognize the things we see, hear, or touch. Also, the right side of the brain projects an image of our own body and makes us aware of it.

Memory – the ability to store and remember information. Considering the fact that our brains are constantly exposed to an enormous portion of information and sensory signals, it becomes more than evident that this vital part of our bodies has an amazing capacity for storing information.

Human memory is created by the means of association, i.e. by linking pieces of information together. The frontal and temporal lobes, the limbic system, as well as parts of the brainstem are parts of the right brain hemisphere that controls memory. Here is where the information we gather based on what we see, hear, and feel is stored and processed.

In an event of a brain injury in one of these areas, the result is amnesia, i.e. loss of memory.

Problem-solving – finding a solution to a problem. The human brain has an enormous capacity to sort out complex issues, and tackle challenging situations and dilemmas. This feature is one of the few which separate humankind from animals.

The stratum, a part of the basal ganglia, is found in the inner core of the right side of the brain where the decision-making process takes place. The prefrontal cortex is another part of the brain associated with the problem-solving process.

Reasoning – thinking in a logical and reasonable way. As the right side of the brain controls many of the body’s thoughts and actions, it also helps us determine the position of objects in the space around us and understand and remember the things we see and hear.

Daydreaming – indulging in fantasy. Our brain is composed of an analytic part which enables us to reach reasonable decisions, and an empathetic part which allows us to understand others.

When we daydream, we use the right side of the brain, too. It helps us control and process the information through feelings, symbols, images, and imagination by incorporating creative thinking in the process.

To sum it up, the right side of the brain functions as the center of our visualization capabilities, as well as logical reasoning and emotional expression.

What Are the Skills and Inclinations of the Right Side of the Brain?

All of the aforementioned are reasons why the person that has a dominant right side of the brain is considered to be more:

Fond of animals (especially cats)
Good at sports
Keen on reading fantasy
Multitaskers (they can both read a book and listen to music at the same time)
Eager to creatively express themselves
Skilled at geometry
Highly fond of music
Able to dramatize a text
Spontaneous
Intuitive
Philosophical
Successful at solving mysteries
Emotional
Sensitive
Solution finding
Playful
Curious
Risk-taking
Future-oriented
Interested in religion

The Right Side of The Brain and Emotions

One thing is clear – our emotions are a complex matter. Deep within the brain, there is a complex system of nerves and networks which is called a limbic system. The limbic system controls our basic emotions (such as fear, anger, or pleasure), as well as our drives (hunger, thirst). This limbic system is in charge of interpreting our emotional responses, storing memories, and regulating our hormones as well.

When it comes to emotions, the right side of the brain plays a highly significant role in how we manage them. Namely, all the emotions are coordinated and controlled through a region located on the right side of the brain, which brings us to the definition of emotions as experiences associated with the activation of certain regions in the right side of the brain.

Being the part of the brain which develops first (from the 18th to the 30th month of a baby’s development), the right hemisphere is the home of the dominant center which governs the emotional development of a child through the regulation of emotions, but prior to the development of language (controlled by the center located in the left part of the brain).

There are 6 basic emotions, which all other emotions stem from.

To Sum Up

Our brain contains two hemispheres that each perform a number of roles. The division of the brain processes and controls between the left and the right brain hemisphere is called lateralization.

While the left part of the brain is responsible for the right part of the body, language, learning, and logic, the right side of our brain manages our creativity, emotions, and the left side of the body.

The right side of the brain hemisphere combines the parts of our sensory and cognitive experiences in order to produce a whole.

Being one of the most vital and complex organs in the human body, our brain also controls our emotions. That center is also located in the right brain hemisphere.

Finally, the human brain has an enormous capacity to sort out complex issues, create art, and to daydream, as well.

Fun Facts

Did You Know?

People with a predominant right side of the brain are left-handed.
The right side of the brain is in function when we easily recognize people’s faces, read and express emotions, enjoy music, etc.
People with a predominant right side of the brain often tend to follow their ‘gut feeling’.
Hand-gestures are a very common feature of the people with a predominant right side of the brain – they tend to rely more on their dramatic use of hand-movement in order to convey a verbal point.
These people tend to listen to ‘how’ people say something, rather than ‘what’ they say.
Visual memory is strong in people with a predominant right side of the brain.
In relation to the aforementioned, these people tend to derive associative conclusions. For instance, they could find a resemblance between a person and an animal.
The people with a predominant right side of the brain are almost always the ones that draw doodles while talking with you on the phone or in classes.
It’s easier for them to write a poem than to calculate the sum of two chocolate bars, for instance.
They enjoy working with music in the background, even while taking a bath!