Researchers took photographs of different faces, cut them down the middle vertically, and pasted different halves together to form composite faces. The reconstructed photographs were flashed quickly to split-brain patients. It was found that the split-brain patients would:
A) name the person in the left part of the image and point with the right hand to the left image.
B) name the person in the right part of the image and point with the left hand to the left image.
C) name the person in the right part of the image and point with the right hand to the left image.
D) name the person in the left part of the image and point with the left hand to the right image.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Split-brain patients have a disconnected corpus callosum which prevents communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. When a composite face is flashed quickly to the two hemispheres, each hemisphere takes in different information. The left hemisphere, which is responsible for language processing, would name the person on the right side of the composite face, but it can only control the right hand, so the patient would point to the left image with their left hand. Similarly, the right hemisphere, which is responsible for visuospatial processing, would recognize the person on the left side of the composite face, but it can only control the left hand, so the patient would point to the left image with their left hand. Therefore, the patient would name the person on the right side of the image and point to the left image with their left hand.

Researchers Took Photographs of Different Faces, Cut Them Down the Middle