The human brain, removed from its protective shell(the skull) looks something like a large walnut half, deeply fissured and split into two parts by a deep central crevasse(corpus callosum). These two parts of the brain, known as hemispheres or lobes, are connected only by thick bundles of nerves. Historic studies caused excitement and astonishment by demonstrating that not only does each hemisphere of the cortex have its own train of conscious thoughts and its own memories, but that the two sides think or operate in fundamentally different modes. The brain is “cross-wired” to the body- with the right hemisphere controlling the left half of the body and the left hemisphere controlling the right half. Neurologist Marcel Kinsbourne points out that the different hemispheres are not only specialized for mental processes but also that “it is now becoming increasingly clear that each hemisphere also supports a different emotional state.
The Left Brain- Thinks analytically, sequentially, logically with orientation in time.
The Right Brain- Processes information in a mostly nonverbal, simultaneous, intuitive, nonlinear, timeless, imagistic manner. It seems to be the seat of those flashes of insight that have been called the Eureka event.
Research into the brain waves of the two hemispheres of floaters indicates that floating increases right-brain function. Thomas Budzynski, who was engaged in EEG measurement of the hemispheres under varying conditions, made it clear that, “In a float condition, left-hemisphere faculties are somewhat suspended and the right hemisphere ascends in dominance.” The tank does not block or inhibit the left hemisphere, but simply changes its role from one of dominance to one of partnership with the other hemisphere, enabling floaters to use all their mental powers. Synchronization of brain waves, hemispheric harmony, is one explanation for the great increase of productivity, performance, and efficiency, and the generalized feelings of competence, confidence, and wholeness experienced by floaters.