A right-handed split-brain patient is shown a picture of a car in the left visual field and a picture of a tire in the right visual field. When asked what he saw, he will reply _________, and if asked to draw the picture with his left hand he will draw _________.
A)a car; a tire
B)a tire; a car
C)a car; a car
D)a tire; a tire
E)a car; a car with tires

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In split-brain patients, the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, is severed. This means the hemispheres cannot communicate. The left hemisphere controls speech and the right side of the body, and processes information from the right visual field. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and processes information from the left visual field. Since the picture of the tire is in the right visual field, it is processed by the left hemisphere, and the patient can verbally identify it. However, the picture of the car in the left visual field is processed by the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand, so the patient will draw a car with the left hand.

A Right-Handed Split-Brain Patient Is Shown a Picture of a Car