AIMS The following questions have to do with the study of patients who have undergone a surgery (for medical reasons, severe epilepsy being one) that severed the corpus callosum. This leaves the two halves of the brain to work independently from one another. The main questions this study seeks to answer are: how do the two halves of the brain interact with each other and how is this relationship altered after the subjects have undergone this surgery?
METHODS
Basically, subjects were asked to attempt modest tasks that were presented to only one side of the brain at a time. Many of the experiments involved different variations of visual cues. For example; lights, pictures and flash cards were all used; most in conjunction with tasks such …show more content…
In the simplest experiment a light bar was set up and the subject was asked to focus in the center of the light bar. When all lights flashed the subject could only testify to registering the right half of the lights and when just the left side was lit no register of any lights being lit was recorded by the subject. Often an object would be shown to a subject in one field of vision and they would recognize and describe the object; when the same object was shown to them in the other field of vision it appeared that the subject had never seen nor heard of such an object. When a subject’s right hand held an object, they could acknowledge through writing or verbally what it was but not if placed in the left hand. If asked to find, with their left hand, a specific item from a group of items held from view, the left hand had no trouble recognizing the requested item. Many similar experiments were conducted.
DISCUSSION
The study definitely proves that the two halves of the brain require the corpus collosum to be intact in order for them to communicate successfully. The study also shows that I.Q., temperament and personality are not altered after surgery, which leads one to believe that the corpus collosum is not responsible for these characteristics, but that it is responsible for translating the perception of incoming information being filtered visually and physically.
CRITICAL …show more content…
There is one cool concept that is expressed at the end of the article, that is; knowing that the two halves of the brain can function and even develop independently would it be possible that if the corpus collossum were severed during early childhood the two halves of said child may develop as if each were whole? This is an interesting question. I imagine that if this were the case the corpus collosum would have already began to physically fade away into evolutionary history and that would be that. So for now I will be thankful my two halves are bonded, while sufferers of epilepsy can be thankful for an option to divorce the two halves and psychologists can enjoy a controversially free study of
METHODS
Basically, subjects were asked to attempt modest tasks that were presented to only one side of the brain at a time. Many of the experiments involved different variations of visual cues. For example; lights, pictures and flash cards were all used; most in conjunction with tasks such …show more content…
In the simplest experiment a light bar was set up and the subject was asked to focus in the center of the light bar. When all lights flashed the subject could only testify to registering the right half of the lights and when just the left side was lit no register of any lights being lit was recorded by the subject. Often an object would be shown to a subject in one field of vision and they would recognize and describe the object; when the same object was shown to them in the other field of vision it appeared that the subject had never seen nor heard of such an object. When a subject’s right hand held an object, they could acknowledge through writing or verbally what it was but not if placed in the left hand. If asked to find, with their left hand, a specific item from a group of items held from view, the left hand had no trouble recognizing the requested item. Many similar experiments were conducted.
DISCUSSION
The study definitely proves that the two halves of the brain require the corpus collosum to be intact in order for them to communicate successfully. The study also shows that I.Q., temperament and personality are not altered after surgery, which leads one to believe that the corpus collosum is not responsible for these characteristics, but that it is responsible for translating the perception of incoming information being filtered visually and physically.
CRITICAL …show more content…
There is one cool concept that is expressed at the end of the article, that is; knowing that the two halves of the brain can function and even develop independently would it be possible that if the corpus collossum were severed during early childhood the two halves of said child may develop as if each were whole? This is an interesting question. I imagine that if this were the case the corpus collosum would have already began to physically fade away into evolutionary history and that would be that. So for now I will be thankful my two halves are bonded, while sufferers of epilepsy can be thankful for an option to divorce the two halves and psychologists can enjoy a controversially free study of