Are You a Left-Brained or Right-Brained Thinker? with Grace Tworek, PsyD

Podcast Transcript

John Horton:

Hello, and welcome to another Health Essentials Podcast. I'm John Horton, your host. Today, we're going to dive into a debate about the left and the right. And no, we're not talking about politics. We're looking at the anatomical halves of your brain. According to long-held beliefs, the two sides of your brain power different ways of thinking. People who are right brain-dominant are said to be more creative. Those who are left brain-dominant, they're labeled as more analytical. Is there any truth to that? Well, we're going to answer that question by tapping into the mind of psychologist, Grace Tworek. Dr. Tworek is one of the many experts at Cleveland Clinic who visit our weekly podcast to demystify our bodies and our health. So, let's put our thinking caps on and learn how our brains really work. Dr. Tworek, I got to tell you, every time I see your name on the calendar, I'm always excited because we have such great talks. So, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I love being involved in these and just kind of sharing all the really cool things that we have to offer here at Cleveland Clinic, and just all the cool topics you guys bring to the stage. So, I'm very happy.

John Horton:

You always bring cool topics to life for us. And today, we're talking about the brain, which is kind of, that's your professional turf. So just every time we talk, I'm amazed at just how amazing the brain is. I mean, this organ that lives in our skulls just does so much.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

It really, really does. And our brain is just a really cool and complex thing to talk about, and it really is involved in so many of our functions that we don't even think about every single day.

John Horton:

So, looking at our brains, we basically have this supercomputer that's kind of sitting on top of our neck. And for those of us who kind of powered down during biology class, walk us through how the brain works and how it functions as our body's control center.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Absolutely. So, I'm going to break this down into three major areas that take up this space in our skulls here. And the major part or what we think of, or when we Google an image of the brain, what we're usually looking at is the cerebrum. Now, the cerebrum, that controls somatosensory, motor, language, thought processes, memory, emotions, and it's in two hemispheres. Now these two hemispheres are connected by a large bundle of fibers that we call the corpus callosum.

So that is one of the major areas that we're going to talk about. But there's always two other parts that I think deserve some credit, too. And that would be the cerebellum and the brainstem. Now the cerebellum, that's kind of towards the back of our skull, and that coordinates and regulates our muscular activity. So, think balance, movement, that kind of thing. And then the brainstem, kind of like, I don't know, a beanstalk or something. That is what allows messages to connect from the cerebrum to our spinal cord. So that allows messages to go from the brain down and is responsible for a lot of our involuntary muscles. So, think about, well, we don't have to think about our heart rate, digestion and those sorts of things. These are the kind of three major players that allow us to think, breathe and do as we do as humans each and every day.

John Horton:

There's a lot going on up there. And so, we're talking today specifically about the two halves or the hemispheres of your brain. So as all of this is going on and you have all these different functions, are those two halves working together or are they working separately and independently from each other?

Dr. Grace Tworek:

That is a great question. So now our cerebrum in itself is broken down into those two hemispheres, like I just said. Right? And there's actually different lobes of the brain within these two hemispheres, right?

John Horton:

Because it's never easy.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Make it more complicated. Exactly. Now, these four lobes, there's four, like I said, there's the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal. Now they all break down different activities and different areas of the brain, even on different sides can be responsible for different things just because we are complex creatures. So, we have to kind of break it down, but some of the most important things to know is that oftentimes, individuals will have one side of their brain, so one hemisphere that might be a little bit more dominant and that might house different functions. So, for example, in our frontal lobe, this is where movement, judgment, problem-solving, intelligence, writing, speaking, all this great stuff is housed.

But in most individuals, the dominant hemisphere is actually the left hemisphere in terms of where expressing language and interpreting language occurs. So, if we were to have damage in this area in the frontal lobe on the left side, for most people, if damage was to occur there, going back to a lot of science classes, for us, this is where aphasia would occur. A lot of us here, Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's, so that side of the brain is where language happens for a lot of us.

And for most individuals, it's that left side, but not always the same for everyone, not every single person's brain is the same. So, there is what we call brain asymmetry, where one person might have the right side of the brain be a little bit more dominant. But as creatures and as we develop over time, our brains learn how to, if one area is stronger, how do we compensate for that? Our brains are really, really smart. So, if one area is stronger, usually, there's other areas of our brain that are compensating so that all the different areas come together. So, it's a really long-winded way for me to say, John, that it works together.

John Horton:

OK. Well thank you for bringing that back. I was like, we were going all over! I needed some Google Maps going on there just for directions. So, as we're looking at this then, and I think, as we like to do in the world, we like to make things simple and just go, there's a left-brain person and a right-brain So, are there specific characteristics that kind of reflect somebody who's left brain-dominant or right brain-dominant?

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Sure. And now there is often quite a lot of talk. I feel like if we Google that, right, or we always hear like, oh, I'm a more creative type A, type B, right brain, left brain type of person.

John Horton:

Because everybody wants to identify themselves somewhere.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

And so oftentimes, we think of right brain thinkers being the more creative types, artistic maybe freer spirited, while our left-brain thinkers are more rigid and logical and detail oriented. But the truth behind all of this isn't really as accurate as we think when it comes to breaking it down to science. There really is no type of personality or type of behavior that's linked with being right brain-, left brain-dominant because, like I said, our two hemispheres are working together, but there might be situations that we're in where it's more appropriate for us to be one type of way. So, we might have strengths on either side that come into play depending on the situation that we're in.

John Horton:

So do people tend to, they want to associate with one way, and you almost then act that way. You set yourself up like, oh, this is who I am, so therefore, I'll be this way?

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Sometimes. And it's actually quite funny because a lot of times you'll hear people say, oh, I am not artistic at all. I am not creative. I can't do that sort of thing. But a lot of times, this depends on the context, right? Well, sure, maybe you can't paint a Mona Lisa right here and now, but have you tried a glassblowing class? Have you tried painting? Have you tried a cooking class? So sometimes, it's the context that we go in that can actually bring out these different characteristics that we thought maybe weren't so strong in us.

John Horton:

Well, and that kind of brings us to this idea. Can you build up, I say, one side, and if you consider yourself more of a creative artistic person, are there kind of mental exercises you can do to maybe improve that analytical side and vice versa, too, if you're analytical, ways that you can get a little more creative and artsy?

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Absolutely. And it's really all about honing those skills. So, for example, if we consider ourselves a little bit more creative and maybe staying on task or getting a task done in a confined amount of time is difficult for us, we just break it down and we practice. So maybe if we're more used to visual things, well, maybe we break down our tasks into a list so we can check them off as we go or maybe create visual cues for ourselves to stay on-task.

I have to do this all the time, but maybe if that means we create reminders on our phone to keep us on-task, put sticky notes on the side of our computer in our favorite color that will keep us on-task or set little reminders for ourselves to stay on-task, even if that means an alarm ok, I'm going to do this task and I want to get it done in this timeframe. Well, if I set a 30-minute timer for myself and I really promise that I'm going to stick to it, that can be really helpful. And then on the creative side, if we are really analytical, try jumping into a new project, enroll in a class, trying something new that we haven't done before. And sometimes, if we're analytical, some instruction can help, some guidelines can be a really good way for us to dip our feet into the other side of the brain, so to speak.

John Horton:

I mean, your brain, it's a muscle. So, I mean, if you feel like you have one side that's weaker, you need to work it.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Yes, exactly. And just like I said before, there are some people who naturally are going to have certain areas of their brain that are a little bit stronger, and our brain has just learned to compensate. But that doesn't mean that we can't provide it with a new set of skills to kind of train our brain to learn new skills. Our brains are very, very smart, and the more we practice and the more we kind of expose it to these new things, we certainly can pick up new skills along the way.

John Horton:

So don't put yourself in a box by just classifying yourself one side or the other.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

We all have that freedom to tango over that line if we want to.

John Horton:

Oh, that sounds like a challenge. We all need to somehow find something a little more and go and do something different.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Exactly. Exactly. I mean, perfect time for a new resolution. Right?

John Horton:

Sometimes, I think you must push a little bit, and like I said, maybe get into a corner of your brain you're not using as much just to dust it off and get it working.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Exactly. And even getting involved with a friend to do that, right? Sometimes, it can be intimidating, but it's not something we're used to doing. So, bring a friend along, give it a try and have fun with it. Right? It's OK if we're not perfect at the new thing we try the first time. We just want to enjoy new things. I think that's the biggest takeaway there.

John Horton:

Well, perfect. Before we wind things down, is there anything that we missed or anything else you'd like to add?

Dr. Grace Tworek:

I think we did a really, really good job covering that. I really appreciate you bringing this topic to the table. I think it's something that people are often curious about, and I love what you say by not boxing we in, opening ourselves up to all the possibilities.

John Horton:

All right. Well, thank you as always, Dr. Tworek, you are a fountain of information, so I appreciate you coming in.

Dr. Grace Tworek:

Thank you so much.

John Horton:

Well, it's a good thing our brains can handle so much information because Dr. Tworek gave us a lot to ponder, and that's true whether you're left brain- or right brain-dominant. Till next time, be well.

Speaker 3:

Thank you for listening to Health Essentials, brought to you by Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Children's. To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or visit clevelandclinic.org/hepodcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your own physician.