1. From the study by Sperry on split brains

 

(a) Give one piece of evidence that illustrates the language limitations of the right hemisphere of the brain.

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(b) Give one piece of evidence that illustrates that this same hemisphere is not completely “word blind”.

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2. (a) In the study by Sperry, what is meant by the term “split brain”?

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(b) Explain one problem with making generalisations about normal brain activity from a study if people with split brains.

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3. (a) What technique did Sperry use to present information to only one side of the brain?

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(b) Why does this technique not present a problem to people with “normal” brains?

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4. From the paper by Sperry on split brain patients, outline the evidence which indicates that language is processed in the left hemisphere of the brain.

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5. In the paper by Sperry on split brain patients, he writes, “the second hemisphere does not know what the first hemisphere has been doing.”

 

(a) Give one piece of evidence to support this statement.

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(b) Explain why this problem does not matter in the everyday activity of the patients in this study.

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6. (a) In the study by Sperry, why did the patients have their brains cut in two?

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(b) How were they able to adapt in most everyday situations

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7. (a) From the study by Sperry, outline the major function of the corpus collosum

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(b) Sperry suggested that we effectively have two minds. Outline one piece of evidence from the study that shows this.

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8. In the study by Sperry (split brains) patients had problems with material presented to their left visual field.

 

(a) Give one example of these problems

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(b) Suggest one way in which patients could overcome these problems in everyday life.

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9. (a) From the slit-brain study by Sperry, if a word such as 'key' was presented only to the right hemisphere, participants were not able to name it. Identify how they were able to respond to show that they had seen the word.

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(b) What does this tell us about how 'normal brains' function?

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10. (a) From Sperry's split-brain study, outline one difference between the ability of split-brain patient's and 'normal' people to identify objects by touch alone.

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(b) Give one explanation for this difference

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11. Outline two of the tests used by Sperry on split brain patients.

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12. From the study by Sperry on split-brains:

 

(a) give one piece of evidence that shows the language limitations of the right hemisphere of the brain;

[2]

 

(b) give one piece of evidence that shows that the right hemisphere is not completely 'word-blind'.

[2]

13. Sperry's split-brain patients had problems with material presented to their left visual field. Give one example of these problems.

[2]

14. Describe one problem with generalising from the sample in the split brain study by Sperry.

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15. Explain why the participants in the study by Sperry had previously undergone an operation to disconnect the two hemispheres of the brain.

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16. Sperry, in his study of split brain patients, used an apparatus which allowed information to be sent to the left and right hemispheres of the brain separately (Fig 1.)

 

(a) From the diagram identify which hemisphere (left or right) the word 'case' would be projected to.

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(b) Describe how this apparatus worked

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17. Explain why in the study by Sperry, the split-brain patients had one eye covered during the visual task.

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