What explains that we have two brains in one?

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The two hemispheres of the brain process information somewhat differently. In other words, we have two brains in one, a phenomenon referred to as “brain lateralization”. Can a single unifying principle explain all the instances of brain lateralization? In a recent paper published in the journal “Cortex”, Sanne Brederode and co-authors try to find out. Using a series of experiments in a large number of participants, they were able to show how various instances of lateralization (e.g. for words or faces) relate to one another. Different (asymmetric) input arriving via the eyes and early visual system to the two halves of the brain appears the most important one. Understanding this helps explain how our brains efficiently process all the information coming towards us in daily life. Want to know more? You can find the paper here.