The Left Membrane Vs. The Right Membrane :: essays papers

THE LEFT MEMBRANE VS. THE RIGHT MEMBRANE â€Å"Most people equate learning with studying, but psychologists define it more broadly, as the process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior. This definition certainly encompasses academic learning, but it covers many other forms of learning as well: learning to turn off lights when we leave a room, learning which way to put the key into the front door lock, learning how to avoid falling down on skis, learning how to dance† (Morris & Maistro, 185). The largest part of the human brain is the cerebrum. It is divided into two haves, or hemispheres, each of which controls is opposite half of the body, The hemispheres are connected by a band of some three hundred million nerve cell fibers called the corpus callosum. Covering each hemisphere is a one-eighth-inch-thick, intricately folded layer of nerve cells called the cortex. The cortex first appeared in our ancestors about two hundred million years ago, and it is what makes us uniquely human. Because of it, we are to organize, remember, communicate, understand, appreciate, and create. The brain regulates all bodily functions. It controls our most primitive behavior; eating, sleeping, keeping warm, it is responsible for our most sophisticated activities; the creation of civilization, of music, art, science, and language. Our hopes, thoughts, emotions, and personality are all lodged-somewhere-inside there. â€Å"After thousands of scientist have studied it for centuries, the only word to describe it remains Amazing† (Ornstein & Thompson, 15). In normal people, the switch with manic depression, allows either the left or right hemisphere to be dominant during different mental tasks, with the two sides constantly taking turns. In people with manic depression, one hemisphere becomes locked into a dominant position in periods of depression while the other hemisphere is locked at times of mania. â€Å"The notion that the human brain has two halves and that the left side is associated with logical, analytical thinking while the right side is more intuitive, emotional and creative was popularized about 20 years ago, and soon became received wisdom about how the brain works† (Castro). â€Å"The new theories are also appealing to many experts because they take on a question that has divided researchers for decades. Do people have one overarching mind that spans the two hemispheres? Or are they born with two separate minds -- one on the left and one on the right -- which operate so seamlessly that the person simply does not notice that there are two?