question archive Question: In the Visual Ability test, a split-brain patient was shown an image inthe left visual field but could not name the object
Question: In the Visual Ability test, a split-brain patient was shown an image inthe left visual field but could not name the object
Subject:WritingPrice: Bought3
Question: In the Visual Ability test, a split-brain patient was shown an image inthe left visual field but could not name the object. Explain why andidentify the specialized functions that were discovered with regard tohemispheric lateralization. Consider some of the difficulties thesplit-brain operation causes and the strategies you would recommend tohelp a patient manage them. Was it ethical to do this study? Was itright to trade the suffering experienced by participants for theknowledge gained by the research?
Modified:3/30/2014 10:37 AM
The split-brain is a condition that results after the communicationbetween the two hemispheres of the brain has been hindered. The primarypathway through which to transfer information in our brains is thecorpus callosum. Severing the corpus callosumis referred to as a callosotomy and is a last resort to treat severeforms of epilepsy. The right and left hemispheres of our brain arespecialized to carry out different tasks. The left hemisphere is ableto process one channel of information at a time,but is used to put things in sequence. This allows us to do thingssuch as use language. The right hemisphere on the other hand, canprocess multiple channels simultaneously, allowing us to do a number ofthings such as process visual information. Whenthese two sides cannot communicate, a number of problems may result. Be sure to address all aspects of the assignment in your initial post.
Prof. S.
Issues in Neuroscience
Argosy University
In the 1940s, it was established that disconnecting the two hemisphere of cerebral through dividingcorpus callosum reduced the effects of epilepsy among theepileptic patients. This was because the sectioning of the nerve fibres’bridge which connected the two hemispheres did not interfere with theinterhemispheric processing. However, tests carriedout on patients who had been operated reveal that there are dramaticeffects brought about by the disconnection. This problem is known as thesplit-brain brain syndrome and has some effects on the patients’cognitive skills.
Patients suffering from this syndrome are unable to verbally name anobject that is placed on their left hand side if their eyes are closed.This is despite the fact that they can tell an object placed on theirright when their eyes are closed. However, if the object is placed amongmany items and placed on the patient’s left hand, he or she can easilyselect the item from the other objects. Thisproblem is brought about by the fact that the left hemisphere hasaccess to speech something that the right hemisphere does not haveaccess to. This syndrome is caused by the fact the splitting of thebrain makes it unable to coordinate its activities. Theright hand part of the brain is unable to know what its left part isdoing whereas the left part is unable to know what the right hand partof the brain is doing (Plotnik & Kouyoumjian, 2011).
To control this condition, patients should pay a lot of attention towhat they do. This stems from the fact that the two parts of the braindo not coordinate in their operations which makes it hard for one partof the brain to understand what the other part is doing. In this case,through paying attention, the patient will be able to coordinate theactivities of both parts of the brain.
Doing this experience was ethically right if the identity of the personthe experiment was conducted on was not revealed. This is becausethe experiment was aimed to find out ways of helping the other patientssuffering from this problem and not for the benefit of the peopleconducting the experiment.
