Split Brain Research

• What is the visual field?


  Everything you can see from one side of your nose
• How does the visual area function in relation to the hemispheres?


  The visual area is contralateral and ipsilateral
• Which hemisphere controls the left visual field?


  The right hemisphere
• Which hemisphere controls the right visual field?


  The left hemisphere
• What does hemispheric lateralisation refer to?


  Behaviour is controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other
• Which hemisphere is usually responsible for speech?


  The left hemisphere
• What is an advantage of hemispheric lateralisation?


  Research shows that the two hemispheres process information differently
• What is a disadvantage of hemispheric lateralisation?


  People do not have a dominant side of the brain, which creates a different personality
• How many participants were involved in Sperry's split brain experiment?


  11 participants
• What was the procedure in Sperry's split brain experiment?


  An image was presented to the RVF and the same or a different image to the LVF
• What was a key finding from Sperry's experiment regarding the RVF?


  Patients were able to describe what was seen in the RVF
• What conclusion can be drawn from Sperry's findings?


  Certain functions are lateralised in the brain
• What support did Gazzaniga provide for Sperry's findings?


  Split brain participants performed better than normal controls on certain tasks
• What is a disadvantage of comparing split brain participants to neurotypical controls?


  The differences may be due to epilepsy, not split brain
• What does the evaluation of split brain research suggest about normal brains?


  Normal brains also process information differently
• What was observed in normal participants when looking at photos?

  Regions of the RH were more active for general images, while the LH was more active for fine details
• What is a disadvantage of the idea that the LH is the analyser and the RH is the synthesiser?


  This suggests people do not have a dominant side of the brain
• What does the notion of left or right brained people imply?


  The notion of left or right brained people is wrong