a) To test the hypothesis that the right hemisphere of the brain is more attuned to processing global aspects of visual stimuli and that the left hemisphere is more attuned to the local aspects, I would administer two separate tasks on WS: one for the right hemisphere, and one for the left hemisphere. In both tasks, the same visual stimuli will be used, in which large letters are constructed from smaller letters.
Right Hemisphere Task:
1) For this task, 50 stimuli will be presented on a screen to the left of a point in the center of the screen, allowing WS to process the visual stimuli in his left visual field.
2) WS will be shown a board with the full alphabet written on it. We will ask WS to point with his left hand, to the letter on …show more content…
Importantly, this task allows for us to test WS’s right hemisphere’s ability to attune to the global elements of the stimuli. Since WS demonstrates partial disconnection between his left and right hemispheres, we must include this condition to isolate his right hemisphere, and cannot rely on the communication between the hemispheres. WS is shown the stimuli in his left visual field, allowing him to process the visual information in his right hemisphere. Since the left hemisphere allows for language processing, we cannot ask WS to say aloud the letter he sees, as this would require hemispheric communication. Rather, we ask him to point to the letter he sees with his left hand, as previous tasks administered demonstrate that WS is able to use the motor system in his right hemisphere to process visual stimuli in his left visual field, thus hemispheric communication is not necessary. It is essential to ask WS to point with his left hand since it involves his right hemisphere, and the processing of visual stimuli is also in his right hemisphere. If this were not the case, and we had asked WS to point with his right hand, this would require interhemispheric communication, and would not be an accurate task to test his right hemisphere’s processing of these visual …show more content…
2) WS will then be asked to say aloud what letter he sees on the screen.
3) This condition is necessary in the experiment because it allows for the testing of WS’s processing of the stimuli in his left hemisphere. The stimuli are presented in the right visual field, thus, the visual information is processed in his left hemisphere. Since his left hemisphere is in control of his language processing, we are able to ask WS to say the letter he sees aloud, without requiring any sort of interhemispheric communication. This task allows us to individually assess WS’ left hemisphere’s ability to attune to the local elements of the
Right Hemisphere Task:
1) For this task, 50 stimuli will be presented on a screen to the left of a point in the center of the screen, allowing WS to process the visual stimuli in his left visual field.
2) WS will be shown a board with the full alphabet written on it. We will ask WS to point with his left hand, to the letter on …show more content…
Importantly, this task allows for us to test WS’s right hemisphere’s ability to attune to the global elements of the stimuli. Since WS demonstrates partial disconnection between his left and right hemispheres, we must include this condition to isolate his right hemisphere, and cannot rely on the communication between the hemispheres. WS is shown the stimuli in his left visual field, allowing him to process the visual information in his right hemisphere. Since the left hemisphere allows for language processing, we cannot ask WS to say aloud the letter he sees, as this would require hemispheric communication. Rather, we ask him to point to the letter he sees with his left hand, as previous tasks administered demonstrate that WS is able to use the motor system in his right hemisphere to process visual stimuli in his left visual field, thus hemispheric communication is not necessary. It is essential to ask WS to point with his left hand since it involves his right hemisphere, and the processing of visual stimuli is also in his right hemisphere. If this were not the case, and we had asked WS to point with his right hand, this would require interhemispheric communication, and would not be an accurate task to test his right hemisphere’s processing of these visual …show more content…
2) WS will then be asked to say aloud what letter he sees on the screen.
3) This condition is necessary in the experiment because it allows for the testing of WS’s processing of the stimuli in his left hemisphere. The stimuli are presented in the right visual field, thus, the visual information is processed in his left hemisphere. Since his left hemisphere is in control of his language processing, we are able to ask WS to say the letter he sees aloud, without requiring any sort of interhemispheric communication. This task allows us to individually assess WS’ left hemisphere’s ability to attune to the local elements of the