Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Split-brain or callosal syndrome is a type of disconnection syndrome when the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres of the brain is severed to some degree. It is an association of symptoms produced by disruption of, or interference with, the connection between the hemispheres of the brain.
Split-brain patients have been subjects for numerous psychological experiments that sought to discover what occurs in the brain after the primary interhemispheric pathways have been disrupted. Notable researchers in the field include Roger Sperry , one of the first to publish ideas involving a dual consciousness; and his famous graduate student ...
The neurological model in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind is a radical neuroscientific hypothesis that was based on research novel at the time, mainly on Michael Gazzaniga's split-brain experiments [9] [10] and left-brain interpreter theory.
Sperry studied patients who had undergone corpus callosotomy and detailed their resulting split-brain characteristics. [2] Improvements to surgical techniques, along with refinements of the indications, have allowed van Wagenen's procedure to endure; corpus callosotomy is still commonly performed throughout the world. [5]
One of the experiments carried out by Gazzaniga involved a split-brain male patient sitting in front of a computer screen while having words and images presented on either side of the screen, and the visual stimuli would go to either the right or left visual field, and thus the left or right brain, respectively.
Through "split-brain experiments", the left hemisphere is shown to specialize in mathematics, language and general logistics. [16] The right hemisphere is further specialized, generally, in music, art, facial recognition and in most spatial events. [17] The longitudinal fissure also pays a role in the optic nerve tract.
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
In split-brain patients, the corpus callosum is cut, severing the main structure for communication between the two hemispheres. The first modern split-brain patient was a war veteran known as Patient W.J., [10] whose case contributed to further understanding of asymmetry. Brain asymmetry is not unique to humans.