Biopsychology(Split-brain research)

Question 1

Split brain research of Sperry and Gazzaninga (1967)

Answer 1

Sperry and Gazzaniga, in 1967, were the first to study the capabilities of split brain patients. To test such capabilities, of the separated hemispheres, they were able to send visual information to just one hemisphere at a time in order to study hemispheric lateralisation

Question 2

What did the patients lack?

Answer 2

A corpus callosum, therefore left visual fields and right visual fields (what there looking at through their eyes) was traveled to the opposite hemisphere and would stay there, therefore the hemispheres couldn’t communicate. And info could only be processed in that hemisphere.

Question 3

Sperry study -

Answer 3

When a picture was shown to a patients right visual field the patient could easily describe what was seen. However if the same image was shown to the left visual field the patient could not describe what was seen. this is because messages from the right hemisphere are usually relayed to the language centers in the left hemisphere but the corpus callosum which connects both hemispheres was cut.

Question 4

Left hemisphere language centers may not be restricted there -

Answer 4

Gazzinga suggests that some of the early discoveries of split brain research have been disconfirmed from more recent research. Damage to the left hemisphere has been seen to be much more detrimental for language centers, however this was not seen the case. A patient known as J.W developed the capacity to speak out of the right hemisphere.