It seems that scientists have known about the differences between the left and right sides of our brains forever. In fact, hemispheric specialization — the idea that each side of our brain is more suited to different functions — was first discovered in the 1960s by Nobel Prize winner Roger Sperry. Since then, the popular media has characterized the left hemisphere as our “wise” and analytical side, favouring logic and past experience in decision making. The right — our imaginative side — is less afraid of taking risks, and prefers symbols and images as opposed to facts.
Using these broad distinctions, there’s little doubt that throughout development, children are encouraged to do the type of thinking that occurs on the left side. PhD student Richard Chi and his supervisor, Allan Snyder, from the University of Sydney have been fascinated with the categorical functions of each side of the brain for years. Considering the fact that accident victims who spontaneously experience inhibition to the left side of their brain can develop surprisingly new artistic abilities, they continued to wonder: what if there was a way to deliberately stimulate or inhibit parts of the brain?
This is exactly what Snyder and Chi did. They used a technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) — a fancy way of saying that they switched different sides of the brain “on” or “off.” In their study, 60 participants were presented with the same “matchstick arithmetic” problems, requiring them to rearrange matches in the form of Roman numerals to create mathematically true statements.
Each participant was asked to solve a number of math questions, after which they were divided into randomly selected groups to receive varying levels of stimulation on different sides of their brains. Snyder and Chi hypothesized that participants who received stimulation to the right side and simultaneous suppression of the left would solve subsequent questions more rapidly.
Their results indicated just that. Individuals were three times more likely to solve a problem after right-side stimulation. Interestingly, participants who received both left-side stimulation and right side suppression fared no worse than when they received no stimulation at all. Apparently, we are only set in our ways to a certain extent.
This research, while not exactly novel, does bring up some interesting points. Perhaps our prior beliefs and reality-based judgments, characterized by the left hemisphere, can be pushed aside when it makes more sense to take risks and use our imagination (which is typically the territory of the right hemisphere.) Now, this isn’t to say that our species lacks creativity; our collective resume is filled with some serious credentials. But Snyder and Chi’s work could lead to research on how we can engage different parts of our brains more successfully.
However, it’s all fun and games until the thinking cap comes off. Criticized for jumping to conclusions without controlling for possible false causes of their observations, Snyder and Chi’s experiment has been widely scrutinized for failing to discuss the short-comings of their research, and forgetting to examine the effects on other areas of cognition. The study was branded as “pseudoscience” by writers for the Guardian in the UK, who claimed that Snyder and Chi have created a biased study geared towards popular media in order to increase their exposure.
The original article by Snyder and Chi does, however, state its limitations. In fact the discussion is filled with explanations of the possible shortcomings and misinterpretations of their research. For example, they state that an improvement in performance is likely due to a combination of cognitive mechanisms that result from the interaction of several neural networks. They go on to say that their interpretation can be classified as an “oversimplified caricature” of the inhibition of the left side of the brain.
Despite the controversy, the research certainly gets people thinking. While brain stimulation won’t make you smarter, it will encourage the more dormant parts of your brain to solve problems in a new way. Unfortunately for students, I don’t foresee a time in the near future when a professor will excuse you while you put your “thinking cap” on to get a different perspective on question five during your final exam.
If we’re learning that certain parts of our brains — and in particular the right side — are suppressed in the majority of the population, then perhaps more research can be directed towards determining potential benefits of being able to access both sides on a regular basis. According to Snyder and Chi, it is three times more useful.
Perhaps if more emphasis is placed on nurturing the right side of the brain, educators might think twice about cutting funds for the arts in schools, or branding kids as “smart” because they excel at math or science. Most importantly, if we can encourage equal development of both sides of the brain at an early age, maybe we won’t need a thinking cap to access these parts when we need to.
The right side of my brain is going crazy just thinking of the possibilities.
