Hemispheric Lateralisation and Split Brain Research Flashcards
What is the corpus callosum?
A large band of myelinated nerve fibres that connects the two cerebral hemispheres of the brain
What is hemispheric lateralisation?
The relatively greater localisation of a function in one hemisphere or the other
What functions are localised to the left hemisphere?
Mathematical and logical abilities
Verbal abilities and speech
What functions are localised to the right hemisphere?
Perceiving and understanding spatial relations
Recognising faces
Perceiving emotion
Mental imagery
Musical and artistic abilities
Understanding language and its emotional content
What is aphasia?
The partial or total loss of the ability to communicate
How does an individual develop aphasia?
Damage to either their Broca’s or Wernicke’s areas (both in the left hemisphere)
What is Broca’s aphasia?
Problems producing speech
What is Wernicke’s aphasia?
Problems understanding speech
What is split brain research?
Research conducted on people who have undergone severance of the corpus callosum
What happened when Sperry showed words to the right visual field?
The participants were able to say the word they had seen and write that word down with their right hand - this is because the word was shown to the left hemisphere of their brain, which is responsible for verbal abilities
What happened when Sperry showed words to the left visual field?
The participants could not say the word they had seen - this suggests that the right hemisphere is not responsible for verbal abilities
What happened when Sperry showed an image of an object to the left visual field?
The participants could use their left hand to select the same object by feel alone, but they could not name it - this suggests that the right hemisphere is not responsible for verbal abilities
If the participants then held the object in their right hand, they were able to name it - this suggests that the two hemispheres are not communicating and that the left hemisphere is responsible for verbal abilities
