Back-To-School Brains—The Science of Brain Leads—Part I

In my next two blogs–the final installments in the series Back-To-School Brains — I’m going to explain what brain leads are and how you can use this information to help you understand your children’s natural abilities and challenges and how you can encourage them in their learning.

My friend Betty has the tracking sense of a bloodhound. If she’s driven to a place once, she can drive there again months or even years later.  I, on the other hand, require fresh directions almost daily! Why can she do this and I cannot? Ever had one child that can spell a-a-r-d-v-a-r-k , while another struggles to spell c-a-k-e?  What makes our capabilities so different?

Click on the diagram to see a larger version.

Brain leads do.  But what is a brain lead? Your brain lead is simply the area of your brain which is most comfortable for you to use.  It is your “home base” so to speak.

How do we know what our brain lead is? Using the relatively new science of computer brain mapping, it’s possible to see how our brains are functioning as we think.  When we use a certain portion of our brain, it burns glucose energy and “lights up” the screen.  When we function using the area of our brain that requires less glucose energy, it feels more natural–we don’t have to work as hard.  On the other hand, using an area of the brain that requires that we burn lots of glucose energy is draining

At Julie Anderson’s seminar, she began with an exercise illustrating brain leads.  You try it.  Fold your arms in a natural manner in front of you. Which arm is on top? Now, switch it so that the other am is on top. Doesn’t it feel strange?  You have to think about how to do it.  If your right arm feels most natural on top, you have a right arm lead.  Julie explained that we each have a lead eye, hand, leg and also lead area of the brain.  In the same way that it takes some thinking to cross your arms the opposite way, it takes more work to think in certain areas of your brain.

Frontal Left Brain Lead
According to Julie’s research, the thinking part of the brain, the cerebellum, has four quadrants.  The left side of the brain is the less emotional side because it has less neural connections to the limbic system, which is the brain’s seat of emotion. The frontal left portion of the brain activates when a person makes fact-based decisions, such as delegating authority, setting and pursuing goals.  The child with a frontal left brain lead is often willing to take charge. She is comfortable directing others in a logical manner. 

Basal Left Brain Lead
When a child has a basal (back or base) left brain lead, he is likely good at sequential organizing tasks such as  spelling, making lists, performing detailed repetitive tasks, tracking time and money or recalling facts.  Incidentally, when a child is functioning in his brain lead area, it takes 1/100^th the amount of energy as when performing non-brain lead functions.

Frontal Right Brain Lead
Children with frontal right brain leads are good at activities that involve visualizing. They can think outside the box. They are daydreamers and do well with non-fact based problem solving. Being intuitive, they are inventors, philosophers, artists and creative problem solvers.

Basal Right Brain Lead
Children with right brain leads are often good at relationships.  Their brains have more connections to the limbic or emotional center whether frontal or basal right leads. They are natural peacemakers.  Often they have natural talent in music or drama.

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who will continue this blog on brain leads in her next post!