Spitlt Brain Research

Question 1

What is hemispheric lateralisation?

Answer 1

The idea that the two hemispheres of the brain are functionally different and certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other

Question 2

What connects the two hemispheres together?

Answer 2

Corpus callosum

Question 3

What is corpus callosum?

Answer 3

A bundle of fibres (nerves) that connect the two hemispheres together

Question 4

What is spilt brain research?

Answer 4

Epileptic patients who have violent seizures undergo surgery to cut their corpus callosum to stop the seizures

Question 5

What are results of undergoing the surgery?

Answer 5

Their hemispheres now can’t communicate with each other - they can’t talk about things experienced by the right hemispheres such as facial recognition

Question 6

What is the significance of the right visual field and the left visual field?

Answer 6

Objects presented to the RVF is processed by the left hemispheres and vice versa for the LVF

Question 7

What was the study of Sperry and Gazzaniga (1967)?

Answer 7

They compared the performance of 11 spilt brain patients who had undergone surgery for their epilepsy to people with no hemisphere de-connection and no history of epilepsy - concentrating on dot, responding with certain hands or verbally etc

Question 8

What are the evaluation of spilt brain research?

Answer 8

+ High control - quasi experiment
+ Supported evidence - Broca (1861) ‘Tan’
- Population validity - only 11 patients