What behaviors do split-brain patients have?

Since information cannot be directly shared between the two hemispheres, split-brain patients display unusual behaviours, particularly concerning speech and object recognition.

Why would someone have a split-brain procedure psychology?

Split-brain surgery, or corpus calloscotomy, is a drastic way of alleviating epileptic seizures, the occurrence of sporadic electrical storms in the brain. The procedure involves severing the corpus callosum, the main bond between the brain’s left and right hemispheres.

What happens if the corpus callosum is cut?

The brain must coordinate movements with both sides for appropriate motor responses, and this coordination is mediated by the corpus callosum. If the corpus callosum is injured, the signal transmission from one hemisphere to the other is impaired and can lead to serious coordination problems, or ataxia.

What happens if corpus callosum is severed?

A cut corpus callosum can’t send seizure signals from one side of the brain to the other. Seizures still occur on the side of the brain where they start. After surgery, these seizures tend to be less severe because they only affect half of the brain.

What does split brain mean in psychology?

Split-brain. Split-brain is a lay term to describe the result when the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres of the brain is severed to some degree. It is an association of symptoms produced by disruption of or interference with the connection between the hemispheres of the brain.

How does split brain syndrome affect behavior after a split-brain surgery?

After a split-brain surgery, the two hemispheres do not exchange information as efficiently as before. This impairment can result in split-brain syndrome, a condition where the separation of the hemispheres affects behavior and agency.

Can split-brain patients compare stimuli across the midline?

Although there are indeed many examples of split-brain patients who are incapable of comparing stimuli across the midline, prominent examples can also be found of patients who can compare stimuli across the midline (Johnson, 1984; but see Seymour, Reuter-Lorenz, & Gazzaniga, 1994).

Is consciousness partially divided in the split brain?

Recently, though, an article by the Dutch neuropsychologist Yair Pinto and colleagues in the prestigious journal Brain has challenged the view that consciousness is divided into the split brain. Consciousness, they suggest, is in fact integrated into the split brain, but visual perception is divided.