After the picture of a familiar object is flashed in the right visual field of a human split-brain patient,the patient can
A) say what the object was.
B) reach into a bag with her right hand and select the object that was presented from a group of test objects.
C) reach into a bag with her left hand and select the object that was presented from a group of test objects.
D) both A and B
E) both A and C

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Split-brain patients have undergone a surgical procedure that involves severing the corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. As a result, information presented to the right visual field is processed by the left hemisphere of the brain, while information presented to the left visual field is processed by the right hemisphere. In split-brain patients, language production tends to be localized to the left hemisphere, while visuospatial abilities tend to be localized to the right hemisphere. This means that after a picture of a familiar object is flashed in the right visual field, split-brain patients can use their left hemisphere to say what the object was (option A), whereas using their right hemisphere, they could reach into a bag with their right hand and select the object that was presented from a group of test objects (option B). Therefore, the correct answer is D, because both options A and B are valid for split-brain patients in this scenario. Option C is incorrect because selecting the object using their left hand requires the involvement of the right hemisphere, which has limited language processing abilities in split-brain patients.

After the Picture of a Familiar Object Is Flashed in the Right