The Fascinating Split-Brain Phenomenon Explained

What happens when a person has a split-brain condition?

How does split-brain affect their ability to verbally identify objects?

Answer:

A split-brain individual, due to severed corpus callosum, has interrupted communication between the two brain hemispheres. Therefore, if they hold a spoon in their right hand, they can physically recognize it but fail to verbally identify it, as the speech center generally lies in the left hemisphere of the brain.

Explanation: A person suffering from a condition called split-brain, which is a result of cutting the corpus callosum to treat severe epilepsy, tends to exhibit unique functions of the two brain hemispheres. In this circumstance, if a spoon is handed to the subject's right hand, they will be capable of physically recognizing the spoon but not able to verbally identify it. This is due to the fact that the speech center is typically on the left side of the brain, and the separation due to split-brain condition prevents the visual input recognized by the right hemisphere from signaling the speech center.

For example, when an object is presented to the left visual field of a split-brain patient, they might not be able to verbally acknowledge its existence or name the object. However, they can pick a specific object with their left hand out of a group, but will fail to vocally identify it.