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The split-brain phenomenon

The split-brain phenomenon. background. Remember that the corpus callosum, a huge set of axons, connects the two hemispheres

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The split-brain phenomenon

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  1. The split-brain phenomenon

  2. background • Remember that the corpus callosum, a huge set of axons, connects the two hemispheres • Also, severe epilepsy has caused its victims and the physicians dedicated to help them, to take drastic measures, including, on rare occasions, severing the corpus callosum • While the procedure slowed the epilepsy…

  3. Neurophysiology aspects • 1. Each hemisphere controls the muscles on the other side of the body • 2. This curious fact even extends to how we see the world through our two retinas • 3. The left side of each retina sees the right side of the world and is then routed to the left hemisphere

  4. Neurophys cont. • 4. The right side of each retina sees the left side of the world and then goes to the right hemisphere • 5. For 95% of us, our left hemisphere controls our ability to speak, while our right is mute

  5. More neurophys • 6. For those of us who have an intact corpus callosum, fact #5 means little since our hemispheres easily communicate • 7. But for those rare individuals whose corpus callosum has been severed ….

  6. Split-brain effect • Without an intact corpus callosum, we could see an object ( a cat) to our left (with the image being sent to our right hemisphere) and not be able to tell someone what it was • Our right hemisphere is always mute and now lacks any connection with the chatty left hemisphere

  7. Stranger yet …. • But, amazingly, while the split-brain individual says, “I have no idea what that is”, he would be grasping a miniature cat in his left hand! • Now, with two independent hemispheres, do we have two separate planes of consciousness?

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