Split-Brain Research (Biopsychology) Flashcards
(8 cards)
Split Brain Overview
(info on brain)
- Brain is contralateral
- Each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body
What does the visual cortex process?
The visual information from the opposite visual field
Do the two hemispheres communicate and how are they connected?
Yes they do and they are connected by the Corpus Callosum which is a thick bundle of 200-300 million nerve fibres
What is cutting the Corpus Callosum a procedure for and how was this done including what it led to?
Epilepsy
Each hemisphere was isolated from the other reducing epileptic symptoms with limited side effects
However unusual behaviour and a sense of loss of agency led to research
What did Sperry 1968 find regarding patients who’d undergone _____?
- Split brain research a quasi experiment using 11 patients who’d undergone corpus callosotomy
- Found information presented to the left hemishpere could be spoken, but not spoken if delivered to the right hemishpere
- However the RH could draw or select the object by using the left hand
- Suggesting the hemishperes are both capable of acting independently
What did Gazzaniga (1983) find regarding patients who’d undergone _____?
- Split Brain research using patients who’d undergone corpus callosotomy
- Found that when each hemishpere of split-brain patients were presented with faces the right hemisphere was much more able to recognise them
- Suggesting that the right hemishpere is specialised for facial recognition
Positive Evaluations for split-brain research
Experiments used highly specialised and standardised procedures the method used was ingenious
Can aid rehabilitation of those suffering from strokes by highlighting what functions need retraining
Negative Evaluations for split-brain research
There were only 11 who took part in all variations of the basic procedure, all of whom had a history of epileptic seizures - generalisable issue
Low ecological validity due to artificial environment
