Imagine that a picture of a spoon is briefly flashed in the left visual field of an individual with a severed corpus callosum. At the same time, a picture of a cup is briefly flashed in the right visual field. Based on Roger Sperry's work with split-brain patients, you could predict that this individual will say
A) "I didn't see anything."
B) "I saw a spoon resting in a cup."
C) "I saw a spoon."
D) "I saw a cup."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the corpus callosum is severed, the left visual field processes information from the right hemisphere of the brain and the right visual field processes information from the left hemisphere. Sperry's research has shown that each hemisphere processes information independently and cannot communicate with the other hemisphere. Therefore, the left hemisphere, which typically processes language and verbal information, would only be aware of the information presented in the right visual field (the picture of the cup). The individual would therefore only be able to report seeing the cup and not the spoon in the left visual field.

Imagine That a Picture of a Spoon Is Briefly Flashed