A common observation will point towards a somewhat symmetrical structure if you have seen models of the brain or pictures of it somewhere. This means that if cut from the center, we would have two almost equal halves of the brain. Have you ever imagined what would happen if the brain was cut into two parts? Researchers have identified different parts of the brain responsible for functions in the body. So if we cut the brain into two parts, how will it affect the body's functions? What different conditions can occur if the brain is cut into two halves? This article aims to explore these questions.
The structure of the brain is such that it has two hemispheres. Both hemispheres control the opposite sides of the body, which means that the brain is contralateral. The two hemispheres are joined by a bundle of nerve fibers called the Corpus Callosum. Split-brain is used when the Corpus Callosum is surgically removed to eliminate the effects of a psychological condition such as epilepsy.
When a person has some malfunction, such as an epileptic attack, they can have uneasy movements over which they have no control, making them unconscious. These seizures involve one or both hemispheres. Earlier surgeons observed that if the bridge that joins these two hemispheres, called the corpus callosum, is removed, the seizure can be contained in one hemisphere, and thus the impact of it can be reduced.
Roger Sperry, a renowned neurobiologist, conducted many experiments to study the split-brain. Sperry cut the corpus callosum out of cats and monkeys to examine how each side of the brain worked. He discovered that a split brain, which he named, occurs when the hemispheres are not connected and work independently. In order to ascertain whether there are variations between the two hemispheres of the human brain, Roger Sperry studied patients with split brains. He discovered that the human brain's two hemispheres served various purposes. Language is translated by the left hemisphere but not by the right.
Sperry suggested that there should be repercussions if the brain structure were altered, especially because the corpus callosum joined the two hemispheres and was large enough to perform crucial functions. Sperry started working on studies and experiments to understand the impact of a severed corpus callosum when it was reattached. During that time, he was aware that both hemispheres of the brain performed different functions, and he knew both were responsible for vision and movement on the opposite section of the body. In these experiments, Sperry carefully observed and measured what each human eye saw to understand what information was transmitted to each hemisphere.
Sperry researched people, monkeys, and cats. He began his research using split-brain cats. He presented them with two distinct blocks, one of which had food behind it, while covering one of their eyes. He then placed the food behind the other block and switched the cat's eye patch to the other eye. The cat memorized those instances separately and could not distinguish the blocks with its eyes. Sperry then conducted a related experiment on monkeys, forcing them to utilize both eyes simultaneously. This was made feasible by special projectors and light filters. In the same amount of time, as a typical monkey could memorize one scenario, split-brain monkeys could memorize two mutually exclusive ones.
Further, Sperry started studying humans who had the corpus callosum surgically removed. He showed a word to one of their eyes and found that people with split-brain could only remember the word they saw with their right eye. Further, Sperry displayed his participants two differing objects, one in the field of their left eye only and one in their right eye. He asked them to draw what they were able to see. All the participants only drew what they saw with their left eye; however, they described what they could see with their right eye. In conclusion, Sperry postulated that the brain's left hemisphere could recognize and comprehend speech while the right hemisphere could not. In several experiments conducted with humans, Sperry also concluded that the left side of the brain was responsible for the objects in the right visual field, and the right hemisphere was responsible for everything in the left visual field.
The primary reason for this syndrome is when the corpus callosum is intentionally severed either partially or completely. This is done through a surgical process called a corpus callosotomy. Although this process is rarely performed these days and is always used as a last resort, it has relieved people with epileptic seizures in both hemispheres. This patient improvement was because the violent seizures could not spread from one hemisphere to the other.
Following are the commonly seen symptoms of the split-brain syndrome.
Several motor skills and memories are retained; however, it is difficult for them to perform actions that require interdependent movements of each hand. This involves learning to play the piano or any instrument that requires both hands to coordinate to perform good music.
As split-brain syndrome causes damage to the corpus callosum, information cannot be shared between the two hemispheres. Due to this, people with this condition show unusual behaviors, especially the ones related to speech and object recognition. For example, when blindfolded, a person with a split brain may be unable to name objects held in their left hand. This is because information about touch and texture is sent from the left to the right hemisphere. The right hemisphere has a weak language center, thus making it difficult to name the object
They may suffer from apraxia, a neurological condition marked by difficulty following directions, especially when the task at hand is simple. For instance, tying a shoelace.
Split-brain refers to the phenomenon that the brain is joined by a bridge called the corpus callosum, which allows information from one hemisphere to travel to another hemisphere. "Split-brain syndrome" refers to those who underwent surgical brain hemisphere separation to treat their epilepsy symptoms. The degree of lateralization of different brain activities can be determined through research. Information cannot be transferred from one hemisphere to another in a split-brain patient, allowing the effects of this to be examined. However, the research does not answer questions about consciousness. Does the brain have two consciousnesses?
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