The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the correlational method as a means for examining the relationship between functions of the left and right hemispheres. I will compare the performance of people with intact brains with the performance of so-called split-brain patients. In many ways, the brains of these two groups are very similar. 1 a. For example, the brainstem exists at the base of the brain connecting the brain and spinal cord and has no functional differences between an intact and split brain patient. Being the most primitive part of the brain, its structure does not change because each component, the medulla, reticular formation, and pons, are vital for our survival. The medulla being responsible for regulating our heart beat
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2 a. They generally suffer from severe epilepsy and to reduce the severity of the seizures, as a last resort, a surgical operation is performed to sever the corpus callosum either partially or completely. Because of this, the patient essentially has two different brains such that the two hemispheres are isolated preventing intercommunication as well as the spread of the seizure to another hemisphere. 2 b. Hence we can observe that language is predominantly lateralized to the left hemisphere. This can be tested quickly flash a word or phrase before the other eye can look giving the information to the other hemisphere. If we consider the words “KEY . RING” and tell the patient to look at the dot separating them, the patient will be able to say “RING”, but the patient would be able to draw a “KEY”. This shows how language is lateralized to the left hemisphere as the word “RING” is perceived by the right visual field being connected to the left hemisphere; Furthermore, that the right hemisphere does not contain this function because the patient was unable to say “KEY”. 2 c. Performing test like these allow us to understand lateralization in the general population because in an intact brain, we cannot reliably test lateralization since we cannot isolate functions to a specific hemisphere. Using the results obtained from split-brain patients, we can see which hemisphere functions are isolated to such as language in the left hemisphere and touch the right
2 a. They generally suffer from severe epilepsy and to reduce the severity of the seizures, as a last resort, a surgical operation is performed to sever the corpus callosum either partially or completely. Because of this, the patient essentially has two different brains such that the two hemispheres are isolated preventing intercommunication as well as the spread of the seizure to another hemisphere. 2 b. Hence we can observe that language is predominantly lateralized to the left hemisphere. This can be tested quickly flash a word or phrase before the other eye can look giving the information to the other hemisphere. If we consider the words “KEY . RING” and tell the patient to look at the dot separating them, the patient will be able to say “RING”, but the patient would be able to draw a “KEY”. This shows how language is lateralized to the left hemisphere as the word “RING” is perceived by the right visual field being connected to the left hemisphere; Furthermore, that the right hemisphere does not contain this function because the patient was unable to say “KEY”. 2 c. Performing test like these allow us to understand lateralization in the general population because in an intact brain, we cannot reliably test lateralization since we cannot isolate functions to a specific hemisphere. Using the results obtained from split-brain patients, we can see which hemisphere functions are isolated to such as language in the left hemisphere and touch the right