Sperry✅ Flashcards
Aim:
To test the affects of hemisphere deconnection (split brain patients). Whether or not cognition differs between hemispheres
Sample:
11 pps who had undergone split brain procedure- sampling method is assumed to be opportunity
Mixed sex
Why did pps have this surgery?
To deal with severe epilepsy
Length of time pps had split brain for varied but longest was a male pps who had his surgery more than 5.5 years ago
Type of experiment
Quasi in lab
Type of design
Independent measures
IV and DV:
IV: split brain or not
DV: performance on visual and tactile task
What does left hemisphere control?
Language and speech
Controls right side of body
What does right hemisphere control?
Problem solving, reasoning and creative work
Controls left side of body
Visual task:
Involved research using a tachistoscope to display vocal point between two areas
Pps had to stare at this
Controls related to one eye covered or not
One stimuli to each visual field
How long was stimuli presented for?
0.1 seconds
This was another control
Results of visual tasks:
If show stimuli to RVF would not recognise if shown to LVF
Info displayed to RVF (LH) could be described with speech or writing but could not describe stimuli in the same way if displayed to LVF (RH)
But could point to a picture with left hand that matched stimuli (controlled by RH)
Could draw things from RH (LVF) and could talk about stimuli from LH (RVF)
Tactile task:
Objects behind screen
Pps could touch but can’t see them and hands were covered
Researcher gives pps object to hold
Results from tactile task:
Objects placed in right hand (LH) could be described with speech or writing. If same object placed in left hand (RH) pps didn’t know what object was
Objects felt in one hand were only recognised again by same hand
Conclusions:
Split brain patients have lack of cross- integration (LH and RH don’t have any connection)
