The Split Brain Phenomenon: A Surgical Procedure

M.S. Gazzaniga, 1967, studied the split brain in people. He wanted to see how the two halves of the brain functioned by themselves. It was not until other discovered that cutting the corpus callosum actually stopped severe epileptic seizures that it was possible for Gazzaniga and Sperry to study them that made it okay. Gazzaniga found that the test peoples personality, intelligence and emotions did not change in any way. We use each half of our brains for specific skills. Three different tests were designed to check mental capabilities. It was found that the left “brain” is much better at math, writing, reading, and speaking, and the right “brain” is much better at recognizing faces, understanding spatial relationships, symbolic

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the correlational method as a means for examining the relationship between functions of the left and right hemispheres. I will compare the performance of people with intact brains with the performance of so-called split-brain patients. In many ways, the brains of these two groups are very similar. 1a. The brain stem is found in the deepest part of the brain. The brainstem controls the automatic survival functions of the body, such as breathing. There are no differences between the function of the normal brainstem and the brain of a split brain patient. The brainstem will still supply the automatic survival functions of the body. 1b. The hippocampus is found in the limbic system along with the amygdala, the hypothalamus. The hippocampus is in charge of allowing the body to process information into memories. Without the hippocampus, there is no way for new memories to be created. There is no anatomical difference between the hippocampus in the normal brain and a split brain. 1c. The corpus callosum is found in the center of the brain. The role it plays as a part of the brain is it connects both the left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to work and interact together as a whole system. The difference between the anatomy of the corpus callosum in a split brain patient versus someone without a

Split-brain syndrome, also referred as callosal disconnection syndrome will be a condition that is distinguish by a bunch of neurological abnormalities that emerge from either a partial or a complete lesioning or severing the corpus callosum, which is basically the cluster of nerves that connect the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Abbey Burnworth Assignment Week #2 The split brained experiment with Joe resulted in him being able to only see and verbally repeat the word or picture that was shown on the right side of the black dot. Joe could then close his eyes and draw what had been shown on the left side of the dot, but had no memory of ever seeing that image and no reasoning for why he drew what he did. Messages and information travel between the two hemispheres through the corpus callosum, which is the largest bundle of fibers connecting the two halves of the brain.

The brain is one of the most complicated things ever researched. Typically the brain is split into two halves. The left side of a person’s brain is used for critical and analytical thinking. When the brain is faced with a serious problem the left brain

Essentially, splitting the brain means severing the main bond between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Meaning that the communication between the left and right side of the brain is extremely limited, to be generous.

The neurosurgical procedure lobotomy is based on the concept of localization of function. Localization of function is the idea that there is a direct correspondence between specific cognitive functions and specific parts of the brain. Localization of function comes from the idea of phrenology, which is the study of the shape, size, and protrusions of the cranium in an attempt to discover the relationships between parts of the brain and various mental activities and abilities. Localization of function is shaped by the work of Shepherd Franz and Karl Lashley. Franz and Lashley studied the effects of ablation of the frontal lobes in rats. They did this by observing the animals after they made small holes on their skulls. The results of these studies

After an attack with hysterical and epileptic symptoms lasting fifty hours, Louis V.’s memory was erased until just before the incident and his personality changed. Myers wrote, ‘his character had become violent, greedy, and quarrelsome, and his tastes were radically changed.’ The patient’s new personality was different from his personality before his epileptic attack. Myers made the point that hysterical cases were ‘cases where there is no actual traceable injury to either hemisphere.’ In such cases, neither side or hemisphere of the brain has an injury that can explain the changes in personality. There seemed to be great discussion about the differences between the right and left hemisphere of the brain. Myers wrote that in Louis V.’s case, if his right hemisphere were inhibited so he could not act in a natural way, ‘the high qualities of character remain, like the power of speech.’ However, if his left hemisphere were inhibited, Louis V. became sinister, exhibiting physical movements ‘through nervous arrangements which have reached a lower degree of evolution.’ While it was common to find such evolution regression after a cerebral injury, the person would not

Ever since my volunteering experience with Halton Epilepsy and my Seizure first aid training, I have been very interested in the human brain and its wonders. It was through my training then that I became fascinated to find out that the brain is the control center of the human body.

Numerous researches and experiments have been done based on whether the human being possess one brain divided into two parts (left and right hemisphere) or whether we have two different brains working together. The psychologist Roger W. Sperry was the first on research this topic with some experiments on animals. Then, he later started working with Michael Gazzaniga. They were able to find split-brain patients. Those patients had their brain split as way of reducing or stopping uncontrollable epilepsy. Many agreed to participate in the experiments. The experiments that they held focused on finding out what kind of limitations would each brain have if they operated independently, how the 5 senses

While owning his own Brain Center, Dr. Fotuhi also works along the side of notable universities, “... completing my Ph.D in neuroscience at John Hopkins University before I started medical school. I was actually in the M.D program at Harvard by way of a teaching scholarship offered through Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology…” (11-12). Attending two of the top ten universities in the United States justifies his credibility in the neurology field. Dr. Fotuhi obtained a high level of knowledge of the human brain and is proven by his Ph.D and his accomplishments that were rewarded by a scholarship. Using what Dr. Fotuhi has learned during schooling, he educates us about the topics of neurology while demonstrating expertise by his vocabulary, “... a limbic lobe, a collection of cortical areas in the frontal and temporal lobes, plus some deeper brain structures. One is the amygdala… which is tied to emotions. Another component of the limbic lobe is the hypothalamus, which regulates hormones…” (15). Professionalism is presented as he defines and elaborates about each component of a brain while using scientific terms. Dr. Fotuhi’s tone is serious and indicates his proficiency about neurology which carry on to his novel’s main message and title, Boost Your Brain. Fotuhi’s titles and achievements are never shunned and maintains his professional speech from start to

I found myself agreeing with all three of the professionals throughout the article, but I most agreed with the views of the neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon brings up an interesting example of a sort of duality with the body and the mind, that they both co-exist and exert control over the body. He describes this by setting the physical scene in the operating room during an awake brain surgery, explaining the dichotomy between the physical brain being cracked open on one side of a sheet and the patient on the other cracking jokes and telling stories. The two sides interact when the brain is stimulated on one side and produces some sort of response from the patient on the other side. I most appreciated the way he described the patient as being in a dual consciousness, co-existing both in the physical present world

Our understanding and knowledge we have on the chemical changes in the brain changes the way surgeons and doctors performed surgery. Not many decades ago, there was a practice, it had gotten so popular that it’s creator won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1945, a man named

Lobotomies, which are surgical procedures that cut and scrape different connections in the brain, were very common practice. They were thought to help cure mental illness, but often ended up causing more damage than good.

This was the first psychology class I have ever taken, although I have always thought of the field of psychology as interesting. My decision to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist was made before taking this class, so I wasn’t quite sure if I would continue down that path if this class was unsatisfactory for any reason; thankfully, however, that was not the case. The textbook, in particular, was a favorite of mine. I typically despise taking notes from a textbook, as it is usually quite tedious; nonetheless, I found myself intrigued by the concepts and studies. For example, there was a section on the effects of “split-brain surgery” on patients who had their corpus callosum cut in order to stop the spread of seizures between hemispheres; the