Q&A: Why does the right side of the brain control the left side of the body?

Evolutionary history reveals why brains connect to opposite bodies

Dr Martin Wessendorf is a neuroscientist and an associate professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. His work focuses on how the brainstem controls the function of neurons in the spinal cord.

Q&A: Why does the right side of the brain control the left side of the body?

Dr. Martin Wessendorf is a neuroscientist and an associate professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. His work focuses on how the brainstem controls the function of neurons in the spinal cord. Daniel Wang also researches the brain, focusing on cognitive neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases.

Why does the right side of our brain control the left side of our body? New research may have the answer

A new hypothesis links the brain’s crossed wiring to ancient visual maps, proposing that later sensory and motor pathways built on an inherited arrangement.

Why the Left Brain Controls the Right Body

Why does the left side of your brain control the right side of your body? Neuroscientists at the University of Minnesota propose that the brain’s cross-wiring originated from the optical inversion of ancient eyes, which forced motor and sensory circuits to follow a contralateral map over 500 million years ago.

Why the Right Brain Runs the Left Body: An Evolutionary Story of Crossed

A new Frontiers in Neuroanatomy editorial proposes that the brain's crossed wiring arose because later-evolving sensory and motor pathways were built on an ancient contralateral visual blueprint.