I thought that the notion that one side of  the brain is dominant is
"old hat" and is well known.
K. F.  cg Carline


M.Schild wrote:

>Neurologist challenges Newton
>
>
> Charleston neurologist Iraj Derakhshan has published a number of articles in
>medical journals about what he calls his "non-Newtonian" theory of the human
>brain. Derakhshan believes one side of the brain is dominant and controls
>movement for the whole body. He says his theory could change the way patients
>are treated for seizures and Parkinson's Disease.
>Dr. Iraj Derakhshan has a tough fight ahead of him.
> He's taking on Sir Isaac Newton.
> Derakhshan, who calls himself the author of a new non-Newtonian model of the
>human brain, is a neurologist with offices in Charleston and Beckley.
> Several of his articles on how the brain's hemispheres function in relation
>to the body's movement, vision and thought have recently been or soon will be
>published in some high-profile medical journals.
> Derakhshan is hoping his work will now have a practical use treating patients
>in West Virginia and maybe soon, around the world.
> "This is such a revolutionary point of view that at first I had rejection
>after rejection," Derakhshan said of his controversial theories. "It's going
>to take probably two decades before it's really accepted, but it has such
>important therapeutic ramifications right now."
> Derakhshan argues that what Newton believed about the human brain -- that
>each hemisphere controls and represents the opposite side of the human body
>-- is inaccurate.
> "That has been a point of common knowledge since 1704, and the fact is he was
>wrong," Derakhshan insists. "It has caused a chaos in the history of
>neurology for hundreds of years. But that is what Newton thought, and that is
>what I'm up against."
> Derakhshan thinks, instead, that only one side of a person's brain is
>dominant and that hemisphere controls the movement of the entire body.
> For most people, the dominant hemisphere is the one opposite the dominant
>hand. For instance, in a person who favors his or her right hand, the left
>hemisphere of the brain is actually dominant. But that's not always the case.
> Sometimes people who are biologically hard-wired to be left-handed wind up
>favoring their right hand, or vice-versa.
> "Nature tries to persuade you to assume your handedness according to what
>nature wants," Derakhshan said. "Since we are in control, however, a child
>might just decide instead to imitate someone they love or they might just be
>stubborn and decide to resist nature and use their other hand."
> Derakhshan has developed a simple typing test that helps identify the
>biologically dominant hand and in turn, the dominant hemisphere in each
>person's brain.
> This test, he says, could replace the need for intrusive surgical procedures
>used to determine the source of seizures and tremors. It also could minimize
>the use of seizure-control medications to treat some brain injuries and
>affect how patients with Parkinson's Disease and other maladies are treated.
> For instance, a recent case at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital involved
>a man who had a large tumor in the right side of his brain.
> Doctors believed the tumor would eventually lead to seizures and immediately
>put the patient on a regimen of seizure precautions.
> Derakhshan urged physicians to stop the restrictive routines because the
>tumor, being on the non-dominant side of his brain, could never lead to such
>problems, he said.
> Operating on Newton's theory that both sides of the brain play a part in
>motor and sensory control leads to confusion for doctors who are trying to
>identify the source of seizures in some patients, Derakhshan said.
> Derakhshan's theory is that the source of the seizure always is in the
>dominant side of the brain, narrowing down the size of the potential problem
>area by 50 percent.
> "Just a very simple test is going to replace procedures that make you shiver
>even thinking about them," Derakhshan said.
> He describes in detail the process one must go through in an invasive
>encephalography, when surgeons must pick up portions of the skull and put
>tiny electrodes all over the brain.
> "People have to go through these God-awful procedures," Derakshan said. "They
>spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on surgery, and 30 percent of the time
>they have the wrong hemisphere."
> Derakhshan's theories build on observations made by musicologists for
>centuries.
> Composers and music teachers have always understood that, with piano players
>for instance, one hand always moves faster than the other.
> The speed differential only is possible if Derakhshan's theory is right, he
>said.
> The difference in time between when a person's right and left fingers hit a
>key is the time it takes for the dominant side of the brain to send a signal
>to the non-dominant hand. That hand, therefore, moves just a fraction of a
>second more slowly.
> It's a phenomenon also witnessed by drummers, referred to as "flam,"
>Derakhshan said.
> "One hand is always ahead of the other," he notes. "You watch them bring down
>their sticks, and it's never at the same time."
> Derakhshan began thinking about the implications of his idea in the early
>1980s, but he didn't publish his first report until 2001.
> He wanted to be sure he was right, and he waited until he thought he had
>enough data that people would listen to him.
> His approach might be working.
> He has lectured on the topic at the Cleveland Clinic, and his work has been
>published, largely unedited, in 10 medical journals during the past three
>years.
> He also has articles in about as many non-medical journals, especially those
>focused on the robotic implications of his theories.
> He's using the typing test and software he has developed when it comes to
>treating his patients, and he's hoping other physicians and surgeons will
>consider his theory when working with their own.
> "It's really earth shattering," Derakhshan said. "You, as a person, live in
>your major hemisphere. This is where humanity lies."
> Derakhshan's body of work can be found on the National Library of Medicine's
>Web site, www.pubmed.com, and more information about his theories is
>available at www.mimickingman.com.
>
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