Hemispheric Lateralisation And Split Brain Research Flashcards
Hemispheric lateralisation
The idea that the two hemispheres of the brain are functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other.
Left hemisphere of the brain
-Language areas in LH
-LH is analyser
-RVF to LH
-LH controls right side if the body
Right hemisphere of the brain
-RH is the synthesiser
-LVF to RH
-RH controls the left side of the body
Split brain research
A series of studies which began in the 1960s involving people with epilepsy who had experienced a surgical separation of the hemispheres of the brain to reduce the severity of their epilepsy. This enabled researchers to test lateral functions of the brain and isolation
Split brain research (Sperry) PROCEDURE
-Images or words projected to RVF (processed by LH)
Split brain research (Sperry)
PARTICIPANTS
11 people who had split brain
Split brain research (Sperry) FINDINGS
-When picture was shown to participants RVF (LH), they could describe what they see
-But couldn’t do this when the picture was shown to their LVF (RH), they said ‘nothing there’, but they could select a picture or object to match with left hand
Split brain research (Sperry) CONCLUSIONS
These observations show how certain functions are lateralised in the brain and support the view that the LH is verbal and the RH is ‘silent’ but emotional
Hemispheric lateralisation evaluation points- Lateralisation in the normal brain
STRENGTH
Global elements processed by RH andfiner detail by LH (Fink)
Hemispheric lateralisation evaluation points- One brain
LIMITATION
Certain hemispheres dedicated to certain tasks but no dominant RH or LH (Neilson)
Split brain evaluation points- Research support
STRENGTH
Split brain participants faster at some LH tasks (Luck), normally slowed down by inferior RH (Kingstone)
Split brain evaluation points- Generalisation issues
LIMITATION
Epilepsy is a confounding variable een comparing participants to ‘normal’ controls.
