Kara, a right-handed patient who has had a split-brain operation, looks at a dot in the center of her computer screen while a word is presented to the left of the dot. Which of the following outcomes is most likely to occur?
A) Kara will know what the word is, but she has lost the ability to speak due to her operation.
B) Kara will be able to write the word, but she will be unable to say what she saw out loud.
C) Kara will be unable to say the word she saw out loud.
D) Kara will correctly say the word she saw out loud.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When a word is presented to the left of the dot, it is processed in the right hemisphere of the brain due to the crossing of the optic nerve fibers. As Kara has had a split-brain operation, the communication between the two hemispheres has been severed, leading to deficits in information transfer. Since language processing predominantly occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain, Kara may not be able to say the word she saw out loud if it was presented to her left visual field (right hemisphere). Therefore, option C is the most likely outcome.

Kara, a Right-Handed Patient Who Has Had a Split-Brain Operation