Here are answers to some of the questions that arose at Dr. Evans' lecture.
- Yes, the brains of left-handed (LH) people are indeed different from those of right-handed (RH) people but the origins of the difference are open to debate. We know that left-handers in general have speech represented either in the right hemisphere or distributed in both hemispheres whereas RH people usually have language in the left hemisphere. There is some evidence that LH people use more visuospatial skills in how they process information, adopting a more integrated, holistic strategy to problem-solving (consistent with the right hemisphere's known greater involvement in visuospatial processing). RH people generally employ a more linear, analytic strategy. As I said in the lecture, LH people also seem to be over-represented in sport, partly because they are unusual (10-15% of the population) and perhaps in part because of an enhanced visuomotor skills (eye-hand coordination) through their overdeveloped right hemisphere. You can find a nice description of some of these issues on Wikipedia.
- Although there are numerous products on the market which claim to produce significant improvements in child learning, none has as yet demonstrated such progress in the respected, peer-reviewed literature. It is probably true that any continued stimulation of the developing brain is a good thing (e.g., intensive reading and conversing with younger children; or music training, puzzles, chess, etc. in older children). Whether these commercial products offer a SIGNIFICANT improvement over such normal parental stimulation is still to be scientifically proven.
- No evidence has been detected of side effects due to normal clinical MRI scanning. MRI uses low frequency radio waves to obtain its images. MRI scanning is therefore considered to be much safer than other diagnostic procedures which require higher-energy electromagnetic radiation like X-rays (CT scanning) or gamma rays (PET).