Issues in Neuroscience
Assignment 2: Issues in Neuroscience
Post your response to the topic below with at least 200-300 words in the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Cite information from at least one academic source, such as your textbook or an article from the Argosy Online Library, to support your statements. Use current APA standards to properly cite your source(s). Review and respond to your classmates through the end of the module, asking for clarification, suggesting a different perspective, remarking on an analysis presented, or suggesting an alternative view. Be sure to formulate a thoughtful and substantive response.
Discussion Topic
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?
Answer preview
Split-brain is a situation when the nerve fiber known as corpus callosum, linking the left and the right sections in the brain, is cut or damaged. This happens when surgery is conducted to treat uncontrolled epilepsy. When the corpus callosotomy process is done, the two sections of the brain fail to communicate thus dividing the tasks in the brain into two (Zaidel & Iacoboni, 2003)…
(350 words)