In the video, Jill gives an informative insight into the intricate workings of the human brain. She is a neuroanatomist who personally experienced the distinct characteristics of the brain’s two hemispheres after having a stroke. Since her incident occurred in the left cerebral half, Jill could not understand human language and move her right arm. However, with the right side of the brain still intact, she felt peaceful and at one with the world. This realization made me think about how we could utilize the qualities of both hemispheres in our daily lives.
Before I had the opportunity to watch the video, I assumed the human brain worked in a unified and collaborative way. The two halves to me were not independent of one another and could not perform any tasks without input from each hemisphere. However, as presented passionately by Jill in the video, recent scientific research has shown that the two hemispheres can operate alone and approach problems differently (Taylor, 2008). Consequently, it is apparent for me now that the two sides have two different functioning methods and act independently.
There are several implications on behavior in light of the above understanding of the human brain’s specialized functioning. Using the right brain more in our daily lives helps us cultivate a more caring existence with the rest of humanity (Tops et al., 2017). It would lead to, for example, people performing more acts of kindness to alleviate the suffering of fellow humans. Additionally, since the left brain enables one to understand human language, it facilitates efficient communication between people (Wiper, 2017). Thus, the lateralization of the brain influences human conduct to enable a deeper connection with others.
To conclude, the brain’s lateralization has essential effects on how people interact with their environment. The right hemisphere enables one to create good interpersonal skills while the left eases communication between community members. Since the two hemispheres perform their functions with little input from each other, a conscious decision on which half to use appropriately is needed for meaningful interaction with the world.
References
Taylor, B. J. (2008). My stroke of insight. TED. Web.
Tops, M., Quirin, M., Boksem, M. A., & Koole, S. L. (2017). Large-scale neural networks and the lateralization of motivation and emotion. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 119, 41-49. Web.
Wiper, M. L. (2017). Evolutionary and mechanistic drivers of laterality: A review and new synthesis. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 22(6), 740-770. Web.