HEMISPHERIC SPECIALIZATION
Our brain is split into two hemispheres, the right and the left, divided by a longitudinal fissure. Each side of the brain specializes in function, hemispheric specialization. The right side of the brain specializes in things like art and music perception but controls the left side of the body. While the left side of the brain specializes in language and analytical classification but controls the right side of the body. We have learned that the two hemispheres process different information but work together by sending signals back and forth to make our body function as one. Our brain uses what’s called the Corpus Callosum to do this. When one side of the brain is affected, everything is affected.
When I was younger, my grandmother, who we called “memom”, suffered a severe stroke. A stroke is when arteries, which carry oxygen to the brain, gets blocked or bursts. This is also known as an ischemic stroke. My memom survived the stroke but was kept in the hospital for several weeks in order to do rehab. I remember going to the hospital and visiting my memom. The first thing I noticed about her was that her speech sounded very different. She had a lot of trouble speaking and forming sentences. Her speech was very slow and slurred and hard to understand. I asked my parents why memom was talking funny and they told me it was because of the stroke. I never understood why until now.
After learning that the hemispheres of the brain have specific functions, I can finally understand why my memom had a lot of trouble speaking again after her stroke. When the oxygen was cut off from her brain, it was cut off from the left side which affected it severely. The left hemisphere controls language. Since her left hemisphere was affected due to the lack of oxygen, it caused her to barely be able to speak. My memom was put through speech therapy in order to learn how to speak somewhat normal again. It would take a while for her because she was older which meant her neuroplasticity had significantly decreased and she had to retrain her brain again. She never fully regained perfect speech, but she was able to talk without a slur anymore. I finally understand how each hemisphere plays a role in everything we do and that if one side is affected, something we do daily can also be affected.
Works Cited
Ramsey, Leona. “Slide Player.” Slide Player, https://slideplayer.com/slide/10844873/.
What is a Stroke? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.strokecenter.org/patients/about-stroke/what-is-a-stroke/