Question

42. A "split-brain" patient is asked to stare at a black dot between the HE and ART as the word HEART is displayed on a screen. When asked what she sees, what will the patient do?

(A) The patient will say she sees the word HE.
(B) The patient will say she sees the word ART.
(C) The patient will point to the word ART.
(D) The patient will say the word HEART.
(E) The patient will only see a black dot.

Answer 1

In a split-brain patient, visual information from the left field is processed by the right hemisphere and cannot be verbally reported due to language processing occurring in the left hemisphere. Conversely, the patient can verbally report 'ART' seen in the right visual field because it's processed by the language-capable left hemisphere.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to a split-brain patient, a condition that arises when the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres of the brain is severed, usually to treat severe epilepsy.

When a word such as 'HEART' is displayed on a screen with the patient instructed to focus on a black dot between 'HE' and 'ART', the split in the corpus callosum means that the two hemispheres cannot communicate as they normally would.

The visual information from the left visual field, which includes 'HE', is processed in the right hemisphere, but because language capabilities (such as speech) are typically located in the left hemisphere, the patient wouldn't be able to verbally report seeing 'HE'.

However, visual information from the right visual field, which includes 'ART', is sent to the left hemisphere, where language is processed.

Consequently, the patient would be able to verbally recognize and report seeing 'ART'. Therefore, the correct response a split-brain patient might exhibit, given the choices, would be:

(B) The patient will say she sees the word 'ART'.