{[ promptMessage ]}

Bookmark it

{[ promptMessage ]}

Hemispheres - Vision and hearing operate a bit differently...

Info iconThis preview shows page 1. Sign up to view the full content.

View Full Document Right Arrow Icon
Hemispheres Lateralization refers to the fact that the right and left hemispheres of the brain regulate different functions. The left hemisphere specializes in verbal processing tasks such as writing, reading, and talking. The right hemisphere specializes in nonverbal processing tasks such as playing music, drawing, and recognizing childhood friends. Roger Sperry , Michael Gazzaniga, and their colleagues conducted some of the early research in lateralization. They examined people who had gone through split-brain surgery , an operation done to cut the corpus callosum and separate the two brain hemispheres. Doctors sometimes use split-brain surgery as a treatment for epileptic seizures. Control of the Body Because of the organization of the nervous system, the left hemisphere of the brain controls the functioning of the right side of the body. Likewise, the right hemisphere controls the functioning of the left side of the body.
Background image of page 1
This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document.

Unformatted text preview: Vision and hearing operate a bit differently. What the left eye and right eye see goes to the entire brain. However, images in the left visual field stimulate receptors on the right side of each eye, and in-formation goes from those points to the right hemisphere. Information perceived by the right visual field ends up in the left hemisphere. In the case of auditory information, both hemispheres receive input about what each ear hears. However, information first goes to the opposite hemisphere. If the left ear hears a sound, the right hemisphere registers the sound first. The fact that the brain’s hemispheres communicate with opposite sides of the body does not affect most people’s day-to-day functioning because the two hemispheres constantly share information via the corpus callosum. However, severing the corpus callosum and separating the hemispheres causes impaired perception...
View Full Document

Report

{[ snackBarMessage ]}