Right hemisphere 🧠

The right cerebral hemisphere is responsible for broad, vigilant attention, the purpose of which appears to be awareness of signals from the surroundings, especially of other creatures, who are potential predators or potential mates. Animals must be capable of open attention, as wide as possible, to guard against a possible predator. The right hemisphere sees things wholisticly (The right hemisphere sees the whole first, and then the left hemisphere separates it into parts), and in their context (The right hemisphere sees things in their context). The right hemisphere in birds, as in humans, is associated with detailed discrimination and with topography. The right hemisphere relies more on a ‘global’ strategy, taking account of the thing as a whole and comparing it with an ideal exemplar (The right hemisphere recognizes and groups things by comparing them with an exemplar whereas the left recognizes things by categories). The capacities that help us form bonds with others, such as empathy and emotional understanding, are the responsibility of the right hemisphere. The right hemisphere is more reliant on the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

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References

• Mcgilchrist, Iain. (2010). The Master and His Emissary Chapter 1 Asymmetry and the Brain (p. 59). London, UK: Yale University Press.

• Mcgilchrist, Iain. (2010). The Master and His Emissary Chapter 2 What Do the Hemispheres Do (p. 72). London, UK: Yale University Press.

Metadata

Type:🔵 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Anatomy / Neuroanatomy Status:☀️