split brain research Flashcards
(12 cards)
what skills and functions are specific to the left and right hemisphere
language is controlled mainly in the left hemisphere and drawing in the right
what is hemispheric lateralisation
skills and functions being specific to the right or left hemisphere
sperry et al conducted research on patients who had what surgery
commissurotomy, tissue joining the two hemispheres was cut to control epilepsy
what did sperry et al want to know
if the hemispheres worked independently
what was sperry et al’s procedure
an image or word is projected into the patients right visual field or the left visual field
what would happen to normal brains vs sperry et al’s brains
in a normal brain the hemispheres would share info on what they saw, in this group they would only be able to see one image
what happened when sperry et al placed images and stimuli in the right visual field processed by the left hemisphere
they could describe what they saw, describe what they felt when an object was placed in their right hand but could not clearly draw a picture they saw
what happened when sperry et al placed images and stimuli in the left visual field processed by the right hemisphere
they could not describe what they saw and often reported that there was nothing present, they could not describe what they felt and only made wild guesses but could draw clear pictures they saw
what does sperry et al’s study demonstrate
the superiority of the left hemisphere in language production and the superiority of the right hemisphere in visual motor tasks
how are case studies a weakness of split brain research
very few participants, idiographic approach so only representative of those who had a confounding physical disorder that made the procedure necessary.
how is sperry et al’s method a weakness of split brain research
it was highly specialised and standardised, as ps were asked to stare at a point while one eye was blindfolded. the image was flashed up for a tenth of a second so the participant did not have time to scan their eye over the image to spread the info over both sides. it could be argued that language may not be restricted to the left hemisphere
how is turk et al’s study a weakness of split brain research
discovered a patient who suffered damaged to the left hemisphere but developed the capacity to speak in the right hemisphere. eventually lead to the ability to speak about info presented to either side of the brain, suggesting that lateralisation is not fixed and the brain can adapt to damage in certain areas
