Chapter 3 - part 5: Right Brain/Left Brain: Cerebral Laterality

What has traditionally been the main reason for the characterization of the left hemisphere as the “dominant”
hemisphere?

What is the main function of Wernicke’s area?

If you knew that a surgeon was about to do a surgery to disconnect the cerebral hemispheres, which of the
following patients is she most likely to operate on?

Which of the following would be MOST likely to be impaired as a result of damage to the right hemisphere?

If you present a sound in the right ear, where will that sound be processed first?

Because the speech centre is generally located in the left hemisphere of the brain, what would a split-brain patient
be unable to describe or name?

If you sent the word “banana” to the left hemisphere and the word “cucumber” to the right hemisphere in a
patient with a severed corpus callosum, which of the following would the patient be able to name verbally?

Imagine that a picture of a spoon is briefly flashed in the left visual field of an individual with a severed corpus
callosum. At the same time, a picture of a cup is briefly flashed in the right visual field. What would this individual
likely say based on Roger Sperry’s work with splitbrain patients?

Imagine that a picture of a blue circle is briefly flashed in the left visual field of an individual with a severed corpus
callosum. At the same time, a picture of a red square is briefly flashed in the right visual field. What would this
individual likely say based on Roger Sperry’s work with splitbrain patients?

If a right-handed subject whose corpus callosum has been cut were asked to reproduce a drawing, what could
we predict?

On average, which of the following tasks is performed most quickly by the right hemisphere?

Chase is using a single earphone to listen in on a conversation. Based on the research that investigated
hemispheric specialization in intact brains, what could we suggest in order for Chase to recognize the words he
hears most quickly?

What is the left hemisphere’s specialty in both splitbrain people and neurologically intact people?

Which of the following is NOT primarily controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain?

Which of the following is LEAST associated with left hemisphere functioning?

Nadine had a stroke that was confined to the right side of her brain. What sort of task will be most difficult for
Nadine, based on hemispheric lateralization studies?

Which of the following parts of the brain is most likely to play a major role in the work of artists, architects, and
engineers, who must rely heavily on visual-spatial skills?

Which of the following is associated with brains that have low levels of lateral specialization?