TY - JOUR T1 - The implications of brain lateralisation for modern general practice JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 44 LP - 45 DO - 10.3399/bjgp16X683341 VL - 66 IS - 642 AU - John Goldie Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/66/642/44.abstract N2 - Anatomy of the Brain. 1802. From: The Anatomy of the Brain Explained in a Series of Engravings, by Sir Charles Bell. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.Iain McGilchrist, an Oxford literary scholar turned psychiatrist, recently published The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain And The Making of The Western World.1 His thesis, based on an extensive review and synthesis of the neuroscientific, philosophical, and humanities literature, is that there are two fundamentally opposed realities, different modes of experience, which contribute to how humans understand the world. These differences are rooted in the bi-hemispheric structure of the brain and although the hemispheres are functionally integrated on a day-to-day basis, their different priorities are likely to come into conflict in the long term. He hypothesises that this conflict explains many aspects of contemporary Western culture and I believe McGilchrist’s thesis sheds light on many of the issues we find ourselves now facing in general practice.Lateralisation of brain function is widespread in vertebrates.2 Birds and mammals developed bi-hemispheric brains, which brought evolutionary advantages through being able to perform cognitive tasks that demand simultaneous, but different, use of both hemispheres, for example, finding food while being vigilant for predators.3 The advantages accrue not only at individual but also at population level, where lateralisation produces advantages in social cohesion, for example, by being able to relate to others as a potential mate or friend. As the brain evolved, the cerebral hemispheres increased in size. The expansion of the frontal lobes in humans has allowed us … ER -