Question

Explain how the brain is divided in a split-brain patient if a astimulus is presented to the left half of the visual field

Answer 1

Split-brain surgery involves cutting the corpus callosum, leading to a disconnect between the two brain hemispheres. As a result, a stimulus in the left visual field is processed by the right, nonverbal hemisphere, causing an inability to verbally identify the seen object. However, nonverbal tasks such as object recognition and retrieval with the left hand are still possible.

Step-by-step explanation:

In split-brain patients, surgeries to treat severe epilepsy involve sectioning the corpus callosum, which affects how sensory information is processed between the two hemispheres of the brain. When a stimulus is presented to the left visual field of a split-brain patient, the information is sent to the right hemisphere, which is generally nonverbal and not connected to the speech centers usually located in the left hemisphere.

As a result, the patient might be unable to verbally identify the object, even claiming not to have seen it, because the visual input cannot be transmitted across the severed corpus callosum to the language areas in the left hemisphere. Remarkably, these patients may still be able to perform non-verbal tasks, like picking up the object with their left hand (controlled by the right hemisphere), indicating the right hemisphere's ability to process and act on the visual information without verbal identification.

Answer 2

In a patient with a split brain, the corpus callosum, a network of nerve fibers that connects the brain's two hemispheres, has been surgically removed to treat severe epilepsy. As a result, there is a breakdown in communication between the two hemispheres of the brain.

Step-by-step explanation:

Because the left half of the visual field is processed in the right hemisphere of the brain, information is conveyed to it when a stimulus is delivered to the left half of the visual field. The left hemisphere does not receive this information since the corpus callosum has been severed, hence it cannot process it. The processing of spatial and visual information, as well as facial identification, music, and art, is predominantly carried out by the right hemisphere. As a result, a person with a split brain may be able to recognize objects given to their left visual field (which is processed by their right hemisphere) accurately, but they might not be able to express their observations or describe the objects in words.

The right hemisphere of the brain processes a stimulus delivered to the left half of the visual field, but the left hemisphere is oblivious of the stimulus because the corpus callosum has been severed.