Neural Plasticity Research

According to the theory of lateralisation developed by Robert Sperry and Robert Ornstein, the cerebral cortex in the two hemispheres perform the same motor and sensory functions but each of the hemisphere is specialized for different tasks. As the brain develops, the left hemisphere is superior in doing tasks that involve speech, language, reading, and writing. The right hemisphere shows superiority in tasks that involves creativity, intuition, facial recognition, non-verbal imagery, musical recognition, sense of direction, play and sports, learning experience and risk-taking. Lateralisation is developed for the task that is done, that is the right hemisphere is used for a particular function. This decision is influenced by genetics, childhood learning experiences and

The left side sees and interprets the world in symbols and languages. However the right side interprets it in terms of space and shape.

The other test held was an auditory test. The test was done in two different ways. One way was finding the objects in a bag that were mentioned verbally and the other was identifying the item reached by touch. This test’s results were also supporting the previous researchers’ logical conclusion about the left hemisphere ability of speech. It confirmed the right hemisphere’s ability of comprehending language and its ability of expressing it in a nonverbal way. During the test, evidently, the right hemisphere had no trouble identifying the unknown objects by touch as the left hemisphere did. Moreover, some three- dimensional drawings of the slit-brain patients, who were all right handed, developed much better drawings using their left hands compared with their right hands.

Let’s start out with Jacquelyn McBain, an animal and human behavior specialist who commented on a question displayed on a website called Quora. McBain wrote that right handed people tend to turn towards the right while left

It is full of comprehensive and engaging style; well reference and scientifically proven, summarizes the current revolution in neuroscience and neuroplasticity, and closes the gap that the old age or matured brain, which is unchangeable is changeable and malleable (plastic); extending it functions from one region to the other. Doidge engaging style of writing, scientific proves, and academic tone help to make the book persuasive.

Mead & Hampson (1996) developed a study involving the divided visual field paradigm and a phonological rhyme/non-rhyme task to test the speed and accurateness of either side of the brain. This study was used to investigate functional asymmetry between the left and right hemispheres in phonological processing. The research was taken out equally on 15 male and 15 females London Metropolitan University students ranging from ages 18 – 35 years old. They were all specifically chosen to be right–handed and had English as their first language thus providing a fair experiment to see whether our left hemisphere (left side of the brain) or the right hemisphere is faster and more accurate. In conclusion using the mean and standard

For many decades people have been considered to be either right or left side dominant in regards to brain function which came with defined roles such as “creative” or “analytical”. This thinking tends to be over-simplified as most people use their entire brains daily (Jensen, 2010). On the other hand people do use different parts of their brain for different tasks according to how they perceive those tasks.

In the article, Maintaining perceptual constancy while remaining vigilant: Left hemisphere change blindness and right hemisphere vigilance; says that there are significant amounts of writings that propose the dominances in the right hemisphere related to the predatory survival stimuli. On the other hand, there was a failure to discern apparent differences in the visual scene such as, looking at a picture with a tree, a bird, and a birdhouse, then given the same picture but one thing was missing like the bird and you didn’t notice, this would be called a silent change. Both right and left visual fields were studied, the left identified changes faster than the right, determining the right hemisphere had advantages in detecting change. This proposes

Synaptic plasticity refers to a process through which the brain undergoes neural changes due to alterations in synaptic strength. Many studies have demonstrated that these synapses have the ability to strengthen or weaken on account of synaptic activity. In other words, an increase in synaptic activity will further strengthen that connection, making it more sensitive to a particular stimulus. Conversely, a decrease in synaptic activity will weaken the connection such that it loses its sensitivity to a given stimulus. The neuronal events that result in the strengthening or weakening of a synapse are explained through two mechanisms – Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) and Long-Term Depression (LTD). In fact, scientists believe that the coupling of these two mechanisms essentially contributes to memory and learning of an individual.

Cross hand-eye dominance has been proven to create problems for certain people that don’t prefer a certain side of their body and can even result in problems with language, and learning along with the increase in the prevalence of ADHD. In the brain of a person with cross dominance, information normally processed on both left and right sides of the brain is forced to travel back and forth between both hemispheres. Since the process of receiving the information takes longer than normal, often times it results in developmental delays and later on could develop into a learning disability. The cross dominance creates a type of confusion in the brain and results in the disorganization of information, similar to a filing cabinet. If it is alphabetized

Left-right brain dominance is about the fact that the distinct hemispheres influence thinking. The left hemisphere is associated with logical, analytical thinking and a linear approach to problem solving. The right hemisphere is associated with creative, intuitive and value-based thought process. It is important to note that everyone uses its both hemispheres, but to varying degrees. Four quadrants of the brain, related to different thinking style, have been identified:

Parents do you always wonder why some high school students perform better in high school, whereas some other high school students do not perform well at school. This concept has to be linked to cognitive performance and neuroplasticity development. In this report I have answered my focus questions using a wide range of primary process and secondary process to answer this focus question. In this outcome I will find the possible answers and conclusion on whether high school can improve their cognitive performance and if this was true what are the techniques that are employed that help them improve their cognitive performance and neuroplasticity. So parents join me in this journey as we explore the scientific findings, data and information that

Right brain? Left brain? Both sides are very different and have their own characteristics that help determine what a persons potential strengths and weaknesses will be. “The human brain is split into two halves, each with its own unique abilities. This phenomenon, discovered three decades ago by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Roger Sperry and his associates at the California Institute of Technology, is known as brain lateralization” (Raudsepp, 1992, p. 85). Certain characteristics of a person can go so much deeper then just hobbies that a person enjoys. Brain function can play a major role in how a person perceives their surroundings, such as if someone like to draw or do math. On the other side of that if a person is very analytical and good at subjects in school such as math it could be linked to which side of their brain is dominant.

There is some research on neural structures that are involved in processing contextual cues with different modalities. A PET study investigated whether different cue modalities (visual, auditory, and somatosensory) would produce activation in different regions of the brain (Weeks, Honda, Catalan, & Hallett, 2001). However, no significant effects of the cue modality were found on activity of either cortical or subcortical regions. Meanwhile, the study observed a larger activation of bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) when subject’s motor action (button pressing) was externally triggered than when it was internally triggered. This suggested that PCC was involved in motor movement triggered by external cues in general. On the other hand, an fMRI study on attention demonstrated that auditory, visual, and tactile cues activated their respective cortical regions in a simple

directly due to either being left brain or right brain. What is left brain or right brain you ask?