Within Left Brain
Did brain scans find left brained people?
A large imaging study found local left and right brain patterns, not a global split between left-brained and right-brained people.
On this page
- What the resting state imaging study tested
- What local lateralisation did show
- Why the results undermine whole person dominance claims
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Introduction
The most widely cited scientific test of the “left-brained person” versus “right-brained person” idea arrived in 2013, when researchers analysed brain imaging data from more than 1,000 people. The study is often remembered as the paper that debunked the popular dominance claim, but its actual finding was more precise. The researchers did find patterns of left- and right-sided specialisation in the brain. What they did not find was evidence that some people consistently operate as globally left-brained while others operate as globally right-brained. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vsRight-Brain Hypothesis with…by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 594 — Data were analyzed from publicly available resting state scans for 1…
That distinction matters because educational and self-help versions of the dominance myth often treat brain scans as decisive proof that learners belong in one of two categories. The 2013 imaging evidence pointed in the opposite direction: the brain contains specialised regions, but those local differences do not add up to whole-person “left-brain” or “right-brain” identities. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vsRight-Brain Hypothesis…Colored regions included ROIs that showed significantly greater left- or right-lateralization of gray matter de…
What the resting-state imaging study tested
The study, led by Jared Nielsen and colleagues at the University of Utah, used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Instead of asking participants to perform tasks, resting-state scans measure patterns of activity while people are not engaged in a specific assignment. Researchers can then examine which brain regions tend to fluctuate together, revealing large-scale functional networks. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgPLOS OneAn evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging…
The dataset included 1,011 individuals aged 7 to 29. The researchers examined thousands of brain regions and measured whether connections appeared more strongly associated with the left hemisphere or the right hemisphere. Their key question was straightforward: if “left-brained” and “right-brained” people really exist as distinct types, then individuals with strong left-sided activity in one set of networks should also show strong left-sided activity across many other networks. Likewise, strongly right-sided patterns should cluster together within the same people. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgBrain, Right Brain: Facts and Fantasies | PLOS Biologyby MC Corballis · 2014 · Cited by 519 — Handedness and brain asymmetry are inborn a…
In other words, the researchers were not asking whether the brain contains asymmetries. Neuroscience had already established that some functions are more lateralised than others. They were testing the stronger popular claim that entire individuals could be classified according to one dominant hemisphere. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vsRight-Brain Hypothesis with…by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 594 — Data were analyzed from publicly available resting state scans for 1…
What local lateralisation did show
One reason the dominance myth survives is that it begins with a genuine observation. The study confirmed that some brain systems are more lateralised than others.
The researchers identified regions that showed stronger left- or right-sided connectivity patterns. These included areas associated with language, which tended to show stronger left-hemisphere involvement, and regions associated with attentional control, which showed stronger right-hemisphere involvement. Such findings fit decades of previous neuroscience research on functional specialisation. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vsRight-Brain Hypothesis…Colored regions included ROIs that showed significantly greater left- or right-lateralization of gray matter de… [PLOS]journals.plos.orgPLOS OneAn evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging…
This is an important point because the study did not conclude that the hemispheres are identical. It showed the opposite: meaningful asymmetries exist. Language processing, for example, is often more left-lateralised, while certain spatial and attentional processes show stronger right-hemisphere contributions. [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vsRight-Brain Hypothesis with…by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 603 — We evaluated whether strongly lateralized connections covaried withi…
The popular misunderstanding arises when these local tendencies are turned into personality categories. Finding that one network is somewhat more active on one side of the brain does not mean the entire person thinks, learns or creates primarily through that hemisphere. The study’s data supported regional specialisation, not hemisphere-based identities. [PLOS]journals.plos.orgBrain, Right Brain: Facts and Fantasies | PLOS Biologyby MC Corballis · 2014 · Cited by 519 — Handedness and brain asymmetry are inborn a…
Why the results undermine whole-person dominance claims
The critical result was that lateralised networks did not consistently travel together within individuals. A participant who showed stronger left-sided connectivity in one area was not automatically more left-sided across the rest of the brain. Likewise, stronger right-sided patterns in one network did not predict a globally right-dominant brain. [PLOS]WikipediaPLOSPLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and…
The researchers summarised this directly. Their analyses were “not consistent” with the existence of a population-wide phenotype in which some people possess generally stronger left-brain networks and others generally stronger right-brain networks. [PLOS]WikipediaPLOSPLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and…
That finding cuts against the most familiar classroom and self-help claims:
- It does not support the idea that analytical people are fundamentally left-brained.
- It does not support the idea that creative people are fundamentally right-brained.
- It does not support matching teaching methods to a supposed dominant hemisphere.
- It does not support personality tests that classify people into left-brain and right-brain types. PLOS [2U of U Health]uofuhealth.utah.eduno evidence right brained vs left brainedU of U HealthThink You're "Right-Brained" or "Left-Brained?" Think Again.20 Aug 2013 — Research findings from University of Utah neurosci…
The study’s evidence suggests a more complicated reality. People can show different patterns of lateralisation across different systems, but those differences do not collapse into a single left-versus-right score that meaningfully describes the whole person. [PLOS]WikipediaPLOSPLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and…
Why brain-scan language can be misleading
Brain images often carry unusual persuasive power. Colourful scans can make a claim appear settled even when the interpretation is much narrower than the headline suggests.
The 2013 study illustrates this problem well. The scans did reveal measurable asymmetries. If someone focused only on that fact, they could incorrectly conclude that the images proved the existence of left-brained and right-brained people. The actual analysis showed the opposite. The important question was not whether lateralisation existed, but whether those lateralised networks combined into stable whole-person dominance profiles. They did not. [PLOS]WikipediaPLOSPLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and…
This is why neuroscientists often distinguish between hemispheric specialisation and hemispheric dominance. Specialisation refers to particular functions being somewhat more associated with one side of the brain. The dominance myth extends that idea into a broad description of personality, intelligence, creativity and learning preference. The imaging evidence supported the first claim but failed to support the second. [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCLeft Brain, Right Brain: Facts and Fantasies - PMC - NIHby MC Corballis · 2014 · Cited by 520 — Because the left hemisphere also contr…
What the study changed in the debate
Before the study, many discussions about left-brain and right-brain learners relied on indirect arguments. Researchers could point out that cognition depends on networks spanning both hemispheres, or that evidence for educational hemisphere types was weak. The 2013 paper addressed the popular claim more directly by testing whether whole-brain dominance patterns actually appeared in a large imaging dataset. [deansforimpact.org]deansforimpact.orgexploring the left brainright brain mythExploring the left brain/right brain myth | June 09, 2016Jun 9, 2016 — Jared Nielsen and colleagues directly tested the hypothesis that i…
The study did not end all public belief in the myth. References to left-brained accountants and right-brained artists remain common in business training, education and popular psychology. Yet the paper became a landmark because it moved the discussion from speculation to direct measurement. Rather than asking whether the idea sounded plausible, the researchers looked for the predicted brain signature and failed to find it. [U of U Health]uofuhealth.utah.eduno evidence right brained vs left brainedU of U HealthThink You're "Right-Brained" or "Left-Brained?" Think Again.20 Aug 2013 — Research findings from University of Utah neurosci… [University of Utah Healthcare]healthcare.utah.eduresearchers debunk myth of right brain and left brainpersonality traitsUniversity of Utah HealthcareResearchers Debunk Myth of "Right-brain" and "Left-…Aug 14, 2013 — University of Utah researchers have de…
For discussions of learning, the practical lesson is narrow but important. Brain imaging does show lateralised functions. What it has not shown is that learners can be divided into reliable left-brained and right-brained categories that explain how they learn best. The 2013 evidence supports specialised networks, not specialised people. [PLOS]WikipediaPLOSPLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and… [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vsRight-Brain Hypothesis with…by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 603 — We evaluated whether strongly lateralized connections covaried withi…
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Endnotes
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Source: journals.plos.org
Title: An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs
Link: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0071275Source snippet
Right-Brain Hypothesis with...by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 594 — Data were analyzed from publicly available resting state scans for 1...
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Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Title: PMCAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs
Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3743825/Source snippet
Right-Brain Hypothesis with...by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 603 — We evaluated whether strongly lateralized connections covaried withi...
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Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3897366/Source snippet
PMCLeft Brain, Right Brain: Facts and Fantasies - PMC - NIHby MC Corballis · 2014 · Cited by 520 — Because the left hemisphere also contr...
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Source: journals.plos.org
Title: An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs
Link: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figures?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0071275Source snippet
Right-Brain Hypothesis...Colored regions included ROIs that showed significantly greater left- or right-lateralization of gray matter de...
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Source: uofuhealth.utah.edu
Title: no evidence right brained vs left brained
Link: https://uofuhealth.utah.edu/newsroom/news/2013/no-evidence-right-brained-vs-left-brainedSource snippet
U of U HealthThink You're "Right-Brained" or "Left-Brained?" Think Again.20 Aug 2013 — Research findings from University of Utah neurosci...
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Source: deansforimpact.org
Title: exploring the left brainright brain myth
Link: https://www.deansforimpact.org/about/news-and-blog/2016/06/09/exploring-the-left-brainright-brain-mythSource snippet
Exploring the [left brain]({{ 'left-brain/' | relative_url }})/right brain myth | June 09, 2016Jun 9, 2016 — Jared Nielsen and colleagues directly tested the hypothesis that i...
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Source: healthcare.utah.edu
Title: researchers debunk myth of right brain and left brainpersonality traits
Link: https://healthcare.utah.edu/press-releases/2013/08/researchers-debunk-myth-of-right-brain-and-left-brainpersonality-traitsSource snippet
University of Utah HealthcareResearchers Debunk Myth of "Right-brain" and "Left-...Aug 14, 2013 — University of Utah researchers have de...
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Source: journals.plos.org
Link: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/citation?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0071275Source snippet
PLOS OneAn evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging...
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Source: journals.plos.org
Link: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001767Source snippet
Brain, Right Brain: Facts and Fantasies | PLOS Biologyby MC Corballis · 2014 · Cited by 519 — Handedness and brain asymmetry are inborn a...
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Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLOSSource snippet
PLOSPLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and...
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Source: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu
Link: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013PLoSO…871275NSource snippet
Right-Brain Hypothesis...An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Right Brain
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0L6frhvv4Source snippet
Left Brain Myth! You've Been Lied To... right brain-left brain theory: Study by Jared A. Nielsen et al. (2013): This study, published in...
Additional References
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Source: educationalneuroscience.org.uk
Link: https://educationalneuroscience.org.uk/wordpress/resources/neuromyth-or-neurofact/left-brain-versus-right-brain-thinkers/Source snippet
Left brain versus right brain thinkersAccording to this view, the left brain is the analytical, logical, verbal half while the right brai...
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Source: medium.com
Link: [https://medium.com/%40jlg_76692/debunkingSource snippet
Debunking the myths of the left and right brainBoth hemispheres of the brain work together to function as one to make up personality; A U...
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Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Title: Pub Med An evaluation of the left-brain vs
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23967180/Source snippet
right-brain hypothesis with...by JA Nielsen · 2013 · Cited by 595 — Data were analyzed from publicly available resting state scans for 1...
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Source: direct.mit.edu
Link: https://direct.mit.edu/imag/article/doi/10.1162/imag_a_00437/126558/Evidence-for-a-compensatory-relationship-betweenSource snippet
At the network level, the language network exhibits left-hemisphere lateralization.Read more...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: TI L There is no left brain and right brain divide
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/hkkdv0/til_there_is_no_left_brain_and_right_brain_divide/Source snippet
People are...People are not divided on the left-brain and the right-brain thinkers: those who are logical and analytical vs. those who a...
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Source: ouci.dntb.gov.ua
Title: dntb.gov.ua An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs
Link: https://ouci.dntb.gov.ua/en/works/4wY5LgZ9/Source snippet
Right-Brain Hypothesis...In the present study, we investigated the consistency of effective connectivity within and between subjects, as...
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Source: health.harvard.edu
Title: right brainleft brain right 2017082512222
Link: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/right-brainleft-brain-right-2017082512222Source snippet
brain/left brain, right?24 Mar 2022 — According to a 2013 study from the University of Utah, brain scans demonstrate that activity is sim...
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Source: semanticscholar.org
Link: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/An-Evaluation-of-the-Left-Brain-vs.-Right-Brain-Nielsen-Zielinski/c6611664a0bcece52ca2fd4d8080632d054fda7cSource snippet
te Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Read more...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: The Left Brain Right Brain MYTH That’s Ruining Your Life
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTTwvwGmYoSource snippet
Left brain right brain myth debunked 2013 study Jeff Anderson Debunks Left-Brain, Right-Brain Theory | University of Utah Health Care U o...
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Source: genderportal.eu
Title: An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs
Link: https://www.genderportal.eu/resources/evaluation-left-brain-vs-right-brain-hypothesis-resting-state-functional-connectivitySource snippet
Right-Brain Hypothesis...1 Jan 2013 — We evaluated whether strongly lateralized connections covaried within the same individuals. Data w...
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