Lateralization of brain function: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:47, 9 January 2006

Revision as of 10:50, 9 January 2006

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===Split brain patients===

Research by [[Michael Gazzaniga]] and [[Roger Wolcott Sperry]] performed in the [[1960s]] on [[split-brain]] patients led to an even greater understanding of functional laterality. Split-brain patients are patients who have undergone corpus callosotomy (usually as a treatment for severe epilepsy), a severing of the [[corpus callosum]]. The corpus callosum is a heavy white matter tract that connects the two hemispheres of the brain and allows them to communicate. By severing these connections, the two halves of the brain act independently of one another. This process lead to a wide array of interesting [[behavior]]al phenomena that allowed Gazzaniga and Sperry to research the contributions of each hemisphere in various cognitive and perceptual processes.

[[Category:Central nervous system]]