Lateralisation

• What is hemispheric lateralisation?

  The division of functions between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
• What connects the two hemispheres?

  Corpus callosum
• Why do people get their corpus callosum cut?

  Epilepsy
• Who studied split-brain patients using a standardised procedure?

  Roger Sperry
• How long did the words appear on the screen for in Sperry's study?

  One-tenth of a second
• What did Sperry's study find?

  Patients could not describe what they had seen if it was seen from the left visual field
• Why could patients not describe what they had seen in the left visual field?

  Language centres are located on the left hemisphere
• Which hemisphere seemed to be more dominant in terms of recognising faces?

  The right hemisphere
• What are the strengths of lateralisation?

  • Sperry used scientific methods (one-tenth of a second)
  • Research support - Broca and Wernicke's localisation
• What patient contradicted the research of Sperry as he could speak out of his right hemisphere?

  Patient JW
• What are the limitations of lateralisation?

  • Lashley's study of rats and plasticity of the brain
  • The control group didn't have epilepsy
  • Could not control the levels of treatment each patient had received beforehand
  • Each person's brain was split differently (participant variables)