Hemishpheric Specialization & Cognitive Neuropsychology, Research Paper Example

Why have the notions about hemishpheric specialization (right-brained and left-brained functions) become so popular with the public?

You probably drive with a particular hand, peep through a hole with a particular eye, and kick a ball with a particular foot. Are these actions a result of habits or a deliberate reflex of the brain? These cognitive yet different actions are attributed to hemispheric specialization.

Vogel and Bogen, produced the first human “split brain” in 1962, while operating on the corpus callosum (the bundle of 200 million nerve fibres that connect the left and right hemispheres of the brain). They found out the distinctive nature of the individual brains. According to them, “the left brain was for the logical and language interpreter, while the right brain processed images, emotions and holistic ideas.” Thus the left brain dominated the major actions of the people. The specialization of the brains came to be known as hemispheric lateralization.

This characterization of brains became popular with the public. They tried to assert every action with hemispheric specialization, for e.g., People attributed the right brain as the source of being behind a creative person. His creativity superimposed the vitality of the right brain rather than the left. Many students say that they are not doing well in studies because they are either right or left brained. It is true that each brain has an independent entity, but the basic structure works in unison with thousands of other subcorticals, binded by extensive network within the brain.

What do you think the role of animal research should be in learning about human behavior and congition?

Why do you think your dog cuddles around you? Maybe it is the only medium to express their love and emotions. So Psychology does not involve only humans. It has a large participation of non humans. It is a fact that most of the neuroscience experiments, biology of memory, sleep, effect of drugs and sensory systems are performed on animals for better results.

According to Russell A. Dewey, PhD, “Animals should be included in psychology, if psychology is the science of behaviour and mental processes. Animals behave, and they perform sophisticated information processing. Only symbolic language is lacking in most non-human animals. All the other basic capabilities-visual scene analysis, motor behaviour, and problem solving-are found in non-humans as well as humans.”

Thus animals are a part of American psychology and they have been studied for about hundred years. However, using animals in experiments have led to widespread protests, so now several precautions are taken during experiments. Meanwhile there are technological advances such as brain scanning that has increased the level of sophistication on animal research on human behaviour and cognition.

References

Brueggeman, B. (1989) Whole Brains, Half Brains, and Writing. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lasr retrieved on October 20, 2009 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/465685?cookieSet=1

Constitutional Rights Foundation. (2009). Animal Rights. Bria 16 4 C Animal Rights. Bill of Right in Action. Last retrieved on October 20, 2009 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/465685?cookieSet=1

Hemisphere Specialization of Language. (2001). Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web3/AhmedN.html

Psych Web. (2000). Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www.psywww.com/