Split-Brain Patients: The Two Brains Inside One Person

Split-brain patients, like Joe, who underwent a corpus callosotomy, have revealed that the left and right brain hemispheres function independently in certain situations. In experiments, when a word flashed on the left side, Joe claimed he saw nothing, but when asked to draw it with his left hand, he could. This is because language is mostly processed and produced in the left hemisphere, which couldn't access the information seen by the right hemisphere. This phenomenon highlights the role of the left brain interpreter, the part of the brain that rationalizes and creates stories to explain behavior or experiences. This rationalizing process is not limited to split-brain patients; it's something we all do to make sense of our actions and the world around us.