A split-brain patient is presented with a lime to her right visual field and a lemon to her left visual field. If asked to say orally what she saw, her response would be _____. If asked to point with her left hand to what she saw, she would point at the _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The right hemisphere of the brain processes visual information from the left visual field, and the left hemisphere processes information from the right visual field. In split-brain patients, the two hemispheres cannot communicate due to the severing of the corpus callosum. Since speech is primarily controlled by the left hemisphere, the patient would verbally report seeing the lime, which is presented to the right visual field (processed by the left hemisphere). However, the left hand is controlled by the right hemisphere, which processes the lemon presented to the left visual field, so the patient would point to the lemon with the left hand.

A Split-Brain Patient Is Presented with a Lime to Her