Left Brain Right Brain

I am interested to know if anyone has ever had the circumstance of changing from using your dominant hand over to your non-dominant hand by a situation out of your control. For example: You are right handed, but due to an injury you are now forced to use your left hand for a pro-longed period of time (or vise versa).

It is said that using our non-dominant hand can cause activation in our non-dominant portion of our brain.

Has anyone experienced this ? If so what types of changes occurred in yourself ? Can you give specific examples of the changes you noticed that impacted you in a real life changing way ?

Please explain first what happened that made you change to using the other hand and then tell us what changes occurred.


Here is an article I found which discusses the beliefs on what happens when one begins to use their non-dominant hand.

The non-dominant hand is actually linked to the non-dominant hemisphere in your brain – the one that isn’t exercised as often. There are studies that show that when you use your dominant hand, one hemisphere of the brain is active. When you use the non-dominant hand, both hemispheres are activated, which may result in thinking differently and becoming more creative.

source

leolady

reply to post by leolady


Does parental ineptitude count as "injury"? My parents were apparently too dim to figure out my dominant side as a child so I do some things with my right and some with my left. Now wonder I am so mixed up.

reply to post by intrptr


I wouldn't say mixed up. This would just mean that you have been using both sides of your brain pre-dominantly since child hood. If what they say is true... That would make you "special" lol, right ?

leolady

reply to post by leolady


Ambidexterity is a needed skill in many trades, along with strong visualization (seeing around corners by feel)

Personally it improved my basic problem solving skills, and helped me to think outside the box a little more.

Learning musical instruments is another good way to train handedness as well as improve problem solving skills.

I am also able to write more legibly with my off hand, maybe because I trained it in form not speed...dunno.

So I guess for me the inclination to use both was always there, but the skill is something that has to be put into practice to really get equal function from it.

Cheers

leolady
reply to post by intrptr

 

I wouldn't say mixed up. This would just mean that you have been using both sides of your brain pre-dominantly since child hood. If what they say is true... That would make you "special" lol, right ?

leolady

In need of Special Ed, maybe.

Seriously its been a hamper dextrous wise.

All that confusion has made my self esteem tank to some degree, because I tried to learn with both and that prevented me from getting good at anything. Just a personal perspective. Others can switch hit no problem.

Not sure if this was what you were looking for, but I thought I'd share anyway.

I was born a southpaw, but my parents "converted" me to being right-handed. The most obvious way it has affected me is in sports. I can dribble, drive and shoot a basketball equally well with both hands; baseball I throw right, bat left; can pick up a rifle and shoot with either side; I cast a fishing rod more accurately with my left, but write slightly more neatly with my right. When studying I use the mouse with my left and write with the right, so more efficient that way.

But, I do have a tendency to transpose numbers and letters as well as write them mirror image. Not sure if that is an effect or not from having been switched from a lefty to righty.

reply to post by intrptr


I think your being too hard on yourself. Its ok I do it too.

because I tried to learn with both and that prevented me from getting good at anything. Just a personal perspective.

The fact that you recognize this shows great thought and consideration into it. You noticed where you felt improvement is or was needed. So now you can walk away and focus on that. Very in-tune intellect, me thinks.


leolady

I am predominantly right-handed although I use my left hand for a lot of stuff and learned how to shoot short shots in basketball pretty well with my left, but I've always been left-footed. It freaked my college track coaches out when they went into blocks work with me. They tried to make me start right-footed and it completely screwed up my hurdles rhythm until they let me go back to left-footed starts.

When tested for right/left brain dominance, I split about 60/40.

reply to post by FatherStacks


Yes this is what I am talking about ! Thanks for sharing.

But, I do have a tendency to transpose numbers and letters as well as write them mirror image. Not sure if that is an effect or not from having been switched from a lefty to righty.

Now this is interesting. I wonder if your brain is trying to tell you something. Almost as if it is talking in code to you. Like it (your brain) is processing at an unknown.

leolady

leolady
I am interested to know if anyone has ever had the circumstance of changing from using your dominant hand over to your non-dominant hand by a situation out of your control. For example: You are right handed, but due to an injury you are now forced to use your left hand for a pro-longed period of time (or vise versa).

It is said that using our non-dominant hand can cause activation in our non-dominant portion of our brain.

Has anyone experienced this ? If so what types of changes occurred in yourself ? Can you give specific examples of the changes you noticed that impacted you in a real life changing way ?

Please explain first what happened that made you change to using the other hand and then tell us what changes occurred.


Here is an article I found which discusses the beliefs on what happens when one begins to use their non-dominant hand.

The non-dominant hand is actually linked to the non-dominant hemisphere in your brain – the one that isn’t exercised as often. There are studies that show that when you use your dominant hand, one hemisphere of the brain is active. When you use the non-dominant hand, both hemispheres are activated, which may result in thinking differently and becoming more creative.

source

leolady

edit on 23-2-2014 by leolady because: (no reason given)

You know, come to think of it... I was always right handed, a trouble maker and going nowhere in life. Left school with no qualifications and no intention in getting any. I broke my right arm and started using my left one. Discovered working out and used my left arm for heavy, physical things and my right for writing. Since then, I've been through college and uni and I'm a programmer.

I don't know whether going from a 'thicko' trouble maker who was going nowhere and tipped to be a jail mate to an educated programmer can be linked, but it's an interesting conception nonetheless.

i've never had a noticable change scenario, however i am right -handed but have always held the knife in my left hand when using cutlery.

well I'm sorry to dissapoint you but the different sides of the brain control different aspects of yourself. For instance all language capabilities (structure and interpretation) are on the left side our brain (brocca and wernicke's areas) however, if someone loses functionality of the left hemisphere due to an injury, stroke, etc or it gets removed altogether, you can stil curse and say polite constructions like "thank you" because that's stored in the right side of your brain. We all use more or less both sides of the brain, because the left side is related to motor and cognitive functions and the right side is connected to emotions, thats why it's called "the emotional brain".
Left brain hemisphere controls stuff like: Logic, Math, Language, Reading, Writting and analysis
Right brain hemisphere controls stuff like : Personality, creativity, Intuition, music, art and spatial abilities.

It might be true that some people may be inclined for some part of the brain, but it's not like the other side is not functioning. There are a lot of right handed musicianss as well as left handed, and a lot of right handed mathematicians as well as right handed.

reply to post by leolady


Yes. I cut my right hand (28 stitches) and could not use it for a period of about 2 months.

I could only use me left hand and after about 2 weeks of being unable to use my right hand I began to notice things.
I am a drummer (obviously I could not do that), a guitar player(nor that), songwriter and singer (sure could do that) and noticed at that time that I felt the urge to sing more, write more lyrics and even sometimes sorta sang while I spoke (hard to explain that, imagine a sorta more rythmic and more notation to it).

Anyway, just my two cents.

ETA: Though I truly believe that the conjunction between them both is crucial and the only way towards harmony in oneself.

Here's a nice video of a neuro brain scientist who had a stroke in her left hemisphere (her experience is by her own account):

www.ted.com...

I separated my right shoulder in late December. I'm right handed and
have been using my left for almost everything since the injury (I'm
due surgery in March).

Anyway, strange you ask. I've been a guitarist/singer for
25 years. Usually when I pick up my instrument I play covers
of my favorite songs and seldom write my own material, but
lately I've been more inspired to just play and explore, finishing
up a few bits and pieces of old unfinished songs that have been
in my head for years.

So maybe there is something to what you are saying, who knows?

Another thing my injury made me ponder is why the dominant
hand is the one generally chosen to do the easy chore of
strumming/picking while the other has the more involved
and intricate job of fretting and chording...seems backwards
to me.

intrptr

leolady
reply to post by intrptr

 

I wouldn't say mixed up. This would just mean that you have been using both sides of your brain pre-dominantly since child hood. If what they say is true... That would make you "special" lol, right ?

leolady

In need of Special Ed, maybe.

Seriously its been a hamper dextrous wise.

All that confusion has made my self esteem tank to some degree, because I tried to learn with both and that prevented me from getting good at anything. Just a personal perspective. Others can switch hit no problem.

I was in Special-Ed for math. However, in everything else I was light years ahead. I discovered ambidexterity in elementary school cause I was pretty bored in class and tried my left hand and sure enough, I wasn't bad. I used my left hand quite often. I have trouble mastering some things too, I thought it was due to ADHD. I want to do everything and have many interests and am really good at most things but I fall a bit short. I have to apply myself otherwise I will procrastinate and or pick up another subject. Some times I feel like making music, some days I feel like analyzing and researching. I never know what I will be feeling like doing each day. I am glad for it though, keeps life interesting.

reply to post by rbkruspe

Some times I feel like making music, some days I feel like analyzing and researching. I never know what I will be feeling like doing each day. I am glad for it though, keeps life interesting.

Thanks, your post gave me new light.

Its okay to march to the beat of differing drummers.

I write, draw, shoot, work, punch, eat/cutlery,drive, use tools, everything with both hands... true ambidexterity. In school they demand you choose one or the other.. and I just switch naturally. I switch specifically when drawing and my "style" is different with different hands.. which is cool IMO. My writing with each hand is pretty much the same, but some things are slightly different like how I cross a T or etc. One thing I ALWAYS do right handed is use scissors or manual can openers. LOL! As I have gotten older Ive tried to identify circumstances that make me switch unconsciously, but I really havent seen any patterns or reasons.
As they say.. thats just the way it is. LOL! I have 3 kids and only one is truly ambidextrous.

Born a lefty but forced to be a righty by my superstitious grandmother. Hours and hours of being forced to draw circles and lines with my right hand. It was torture.
Now my left hand is pretty dumb.
2 out of 3 of my kids are left handed. I was very adamant that no one ever try and switch them.

It's actually quite funny this "right/left brain" dicotomy. I'm still figuring out some of my preferences in regards to right or left hands. These are the ones I found until now:

- Write with right hand
- Kick with left or right feet
- Fork and knife swaped, spoon on the "correct" hand
- Started playing guitar left handed, now play right handed
- Play drums left handed but can do the kick drum with both feet
- Open bottles with left hand on the cap
- Open doors with both hands on the key
- Play bowling with left hand
- Play tennis with the right hand
- Play bowling with the left hand

I'm not ambidextrous. I believe in God.

Okay, joke out of the way. A few years ago, my right arm was crushed. Plates, pins, tendons rebuilt, etc.

Had to use my left hand (non dominant)

It became easier after a few weeks and to this day, if required, I can still write with that hand.