• Question: Why do we have two sides to your brain???

    Asked by strawberrygirl12 to Ian on 16 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      We have two sides (called hemispheres) to the brain for a couple of reasons. One is that each side deals with one half of the body (like your visual and motor centres), and the other reason is that some functions are on one side but not the other – like the centres for speech, and face processing. It’s not terribly well organised – the brain evolved gradually over a long period, and to some extent it’s “cobbled together” in a way that isn’t the most sensible design.

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