Lateralisation And Spilt Brain Research

Question 1

What is lateralisation

Answer 1

The 2 halves of the brain are not exactly the same . Each hemisphere has it owns specialisations .
E.g broca area which is on the left hemisphere

Question 2

What does the right side of the brain control

Answer 2

Left side of the body

Question 3

What does the left side of the brain control

Answer 3

Right side of the body

Question 4

Ao1 Key study Speery and Gazzinga (1967) split brain research

Answer 4

The split brain research is research into lateralisation of the brain
The corpus callousum joins the two sides of the brain together and sends messages between both hemispheres
In the research there was 11 Pps who had suffered from epilepsy so their corpus callousm had to be cut to relieve them of their symptoms
When they were shown a word in their right visual field the patient was able to say what he saw, as the left hemisphere is used for speech production which is where Broca’s area is found
However when the word was shown in the left visual field the patient was unable to say what they saw as the right hemisphere is the creative side therefore the patient can’t say it but they can draw it
This shows that the two hemispheres are lateralised and joined together by the corpus callosum

Question 5

Evaluation of lateralisation :strength

Answer 5

P:one strength of hemispheric lateralisation is that it increases the neural processing capacity
E:evidence for this is that using one hemisphere to engage a particular task leaves the other hemisphere free to engage
E: this shows that brain lateralisation enhances brain efficency in cognitive tasks that demands simultaneous but different uses of both hemispheres providing it with reliability

Question 6

Evaluation of lateralisation weakness

Answer 6

P: one weakness of lateralisation is that there are a number of disadvantages
E: evidence for this is that the superior right hemisphere has issues allocated to it such as they may suffer higher rates of allergies and have problems with their immune system
E: this shows that left handed people have a higher chance of immune system disorders in their immediate families than right handed people therefore it lacks reliability

Question 7

Evaluation of spilt brain research: weakness

Answer 7

P: one limitation of split brain research is that its presented is that the study has as little as 11 pps
E:evidence for this is that confounding factors such as age are rarely encountered in sufficient numbers
E:this shows that it lacks representation as it can’t be generalised due to the small sample size

Question 8

Evaluation of spilt brain research: weakness

Answer 8

P:one weakness of split brain research is that language may not be restricted to the left hemisphere
E: evidence for this is that the patient J.W, who developed the capacity to speak out of the right hemisphere with the result that he can now speak about information presented to the left or right hemisphere
E: this challenges the claim that the right hemisphere is unable to handle even the most rudimentary language and therefore this questions the reliability