Question

A split-brain patient is presented with two words simultaneously: "saw" on the right and "hammer" on the left. If you give the patient a pen and paper and ask her to draw what she saw with her left hand, what will she draw?

a. hammer
b. nothing
c. a saw
d. both a hammer and a saw

Answer 1

If a split-brain patient is asked to draw what they saw with their left hand, they will draw a saw.

Step-by-step explanation:

A split-brain patient is presented with two words simultaneously: "saw" on the right and "hammer" on the left. If the patient is asked to draw what they saw with their left hand, they will draw a saw. This is because the visual input from the left visual field enters the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand. The left hand is controlled by the right hemisphere, which has received the word "saw".

Answer 2

A split-brain patient would draw a hammer when asked to draw with their left hand what was presented in their left visual field because the right hemisphere—which controls the left hand—processes the visual field without verbal identification.

Step-by-step explanation:

When dealing with the split-brain pathology, it is observed that when an object is shown in the left visual field, the patient cannot verbally identify it but can draw or pick it with the left hand. This is due to the fact that the visual information from the left visual field is processed in the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand but is largely nonverbal and disconnected from the speech centers usually located in the left hemisphere. In the case presented, assuming the right hemisphere's visual processing and left hand control are intact, if asked to draw with the left hand what was seen, the patient would draw a hammer.