Many people believe that the halves of the human brain are strictly assigned to certain areas of thinking: for example, the right - analytical abilities and rationality, the left - fantasy and intuition. We checked whether this is actually true.

There are statements about such a division of functions in many books on popular psychology and self-improvement, such as "Success. The main methods of achieving", "Raise Your Financial IQ", "The Power of Habits: How to Become Truly Successful" etc. There are stories about the division of brain functions in some textbooks, in particular in "General and theatrical psychology" edited by Savostyanov and "Lesson developments in biology" edited by Konstantinova. On the Internet can be found and many colorful pictures describing the differences between the hemispheres of the human brain.

The popular belief appears to stem from the work of American explorer Roger Sperry. This scientist from the middle of the last century studied the so-called divided brain - roughly speaking, how the functioning of the nervous system will change if the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres, is removed. Sperry was able to demonstrate that the isolated left hemisphere, in its purpose, rather performs an analytical function and is somewhat similar to a computer. The right hemisphere interprets auditory impressions, promotes spatial awareness, the reproduction of three-dimensional objects and the understanding of “complex relationships.” In 1981, Sperry received the Nobel Prize for his research, and in a press release it was said: “Almost 50 years ago, the great Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov came to the conclusion that humanity can be divided into thinkers and artists. Perhaps the left hemisphere is dominant in thinkers, and the right hemisphere is dominant in artists.”

Based on the premise of a division of “spheres of responsibility” between the hemispheres, some suggest that the brains of differently gifted people are indeed different. For example, mathematicians should have a better developed left hemisphere, while artists should have a better developed right hemisphere. In 2013, a group of American neuroscientists decided check This hypothesis was studied in surveys of more than 1,000 people aged 7 to 29 years. The results of the work refuted the popular belief: scientists came to the conclusion that strong neural connections are evenly distributed throughout the brain, regardless of people's talents. “Undoubtedly, some have a more methodical and logical style of thinking, while others have a more relaxed and spontaneous style. But this has nothing to do with the different functions of the right and left hemispheres at any level,” stated one of the study's co-authors is Jeffrey Anderson.

The hemispheres do have “specializations,” but they are not associated with logic and rationality or creativity and intuition. For example, due to problems with the right hemisphere, it can significantly decline the ability to draw and even trivially reproduce the simplest geometric figures, and especially their relative position on a sheet of paper. If Broca's center and Wernicke's center, which are located on the left side of the brain, are damaged, a person takes risks lose speech abilities. However, a recent study by American scientists proved: if such injuries were received in early childhood, the brain can adapt and “transfer” some of the functions from one hemisphere to the other.

Although in many situations one of the two hemispheres may indeed play a decisive function, this does not mean that it performs a particular task alone. Often, both hemispheres are involved in its solution, but in different roles. Neuroscientist Sergei Salozhin brought example: “If you have to write an exposition, the content must first be understood, and both the right and left hemispheres will be involved in this. But in the actual composition of the text, the left hemisphere will be more involved.” Moreover, the degree of participation of the hemispheres in the same process can change with age.

In other words, to claim a strict division of brain functions is, at a minimum, to significantly simplify the complexity and versatility of a system that neuroscientists have been studying for many decades. Sophie Scott from University College London concludes: “There are many ways to perceive and process information. But reducing this to the “logical” left hemisphere and the “creative” right is contrary to what we see in the functioning of the brain. "In addition, it also assumes that you may use one hemisphere more than the other, which is not exactly how it works in reality."