BP - Split Brain Flashcards
what is the optic chiasm
part of the corpus callosum where the visual pathways cross over
function of the left side of the brain
- processes information from right side of the body
- viewing objects in the right visual field
- logic
function of the right side of the brain
- processes information from the left side of the body
- creativity
- facial recognition
- spatial tasks
- viewing objects in left visual field
what was Sperry’s split brain procedure
- recruited 11 participants for a quasi-experiment who had their corpus callosum cut to treat epilepsy
- he had his participants gaze at a fixation point in the centre of the screen
- this tests what they are seeing in each visual field
what is a commissurotomy
the division of the 2 hemispheres by surgery
what were Sperry’s findings when asked to describe what they saw when they saw a picture in their RVF
they are able to describe the picture verbally
what were Sperry’s findings when asked to describe an image in LVF
no they could not verbally describe it and repprted seeing nothing
what were Sperry’s findings when asked to draw and say objects in 2 different visual fields
they drew what was on the left side but said it was on the right side of the screen
what were the conclusions of Sperry’s study
- when we separate the hemispheres, we can see they act differently
- right can recall and identify stimuli but can’t verbalise
- left hemisphere (in RH people) is specialised for speech and writing
what did the split brain study indicate
limitations of Sperry’s study
- all patients were epileptic so brains could function differently
- small sample size of 11 so cannot generalise
- no control group so cannot draw comparisons
- only done on men (later worked suggests women have more lateralized brains)
strengths of Sperry’s procedure
- stimuli was simple, internally valid
- practical application
- ethical and commisutary was already done
