Mark Wieczorek

Richard Davidson has been doing some some fascinating research in to brain lateralization - when he put a monk in an MRI machine, and asked him to meditate in “peace” he found that activity in the left prefrontal cortex was great than that of anyone he tested previously. Happiness, it seems is in the left hemisphere.

New research shows that this pattern shows up in activity in all sorts of animals, including the way a dog wags its tail.

Research has shown that in most animals, including birds, fish and frogs, the left brain specializes in behaviors involving what the scientists call approach and energy enrichment. In humans, that means the left brain is associated with positive feelings, like love, a sense of attachment, a feeling of safety and calm. It is also associated with physiological markers, like a slow heart rate.

At a fundamental level, the right brain specializes in behaviors involving withdrawal and energy expenditure. In humans, these behaviors, like fleeing, are associated with feelings like fear and depression. Physiological signals include a rapid heart rate and the shutdown of the digestive system.

Because the left brain controls the right side of the body and the right brain controls the left side of the body, such asymmetries are usually manifest in opposite sides of the body. Thus many birds seek food with their right eye (left brain/nourishment) and watch for predators with their left eye (right brain/danger).

In humans, the muscles on the right side of the face tend to reflect happiness (left brain) whereas muscles on the left side of the face reflect unhappiness (right brain).

Read: If You Want to Know if Spot Loves You So, It’s in His Tail - New York Times

Trackback URI | Comments RSS