Issues in Neuroscience

Assignment 2: Issues in Neuroscience

Post your response to the question below with at least 200 words in the Discussion Area by Saturday, April 5, 2014. Cite information from at least one academic source, such as your textbook or an article from the Argosy Online Library, to support your statements.

Assignment 2: Issues in Neuroscience

In the Visual Ability test, a split-brain patient was shown an image in the left visual field but could not name the object. Explain why and identify the specialized functions that were discovered with regard to hemispheric lateralization. Consider some of the difficulties the split-brain operation causes and the strategies you would recommend to help a patient manage them. Was it ethical to do this study? Was it right to trade the suffering experienced by participants for the knowledge gained by the research?

Modified:3/30/2014 10:37 AM

The split-brain is a condition that results after the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain has been hindered. The primary pathway through which to transfer information in our brains is the corpus callosum. Severing the corpus callosum is referred to as a callosotomy and is a last resort to treat severe forms of epilepsy. The right and left hemispheres of our brain are specialized to carry out different tasks. The left hemisphere is able to process one channel of information at a time, but is used to put things in sequence. This allows us to do things such as use language. The right hemisphere on the other hand, can process multiple channels simultaneously, allowing us to do a number of things such as process visual information. When these two sides cannot communicate, a number of problems may result. Be sure to address all aspects of the assignment in your initial post.

Prof. S.
Exemplary

Initial response was:
· Insightful

· Original and accurate

· Substantive and

· Demonstrated advanced understanding of concepts

· Compiled/synthesized theories and concepts drawn from a variety of sources to support statements and conclusions.

Discussion Responses:
· Offered points of view supported by research

· Asked challenging questions that promoted discussion

· Drew relationships between one or more points in the discussion.

· Wrote in a clear, concise, formal and organized manner.

· Responses were error free.

· Information from sources was paraphrased appropriately and accurately cited.

preview of the answer…

In the 1940s it was established that disconnecting the two hemisphere of cerebral through dividing corpus callosum reduced the effects of epilepsy among the epileptic patients. This was because the sectioning of the nerve fibres’ bridge which connected the two hemispheres did not interfere with the interhemispheric processing. However, tests carried out on patients who had been operated reveal that there are dramatic effects brought about by the disconnection. This problem is known as the split-brain brain syndrome and has some effects on the patients’ cognitive skills.

APA 380 words