To treat severe epilepsy, some patients had the bridge between their brain's halves cut. Roger Sperry's experiments, which won a Nobel Prize in 1981, showed each half could see, know and want different things.
Truth label: Established. Strong evidence and broad agreement among experts.
Go deeper
Two hands, two wills
Some patients described one hand buttoning a shirt while the other unbuttoned it.
The storyteller
When the speaking half did not know why the other half acted, it confidently made up a reason.
Learn
- What it suggests. Our sense of being one unified self may be something the brain builds, not something fixed.
Test yourself
Who won a Nobel Prize for split-brain research?
Roger Sperry. Sperry shared the 1981 Nobel Prize.
Sources
Swipe more like this
CurioUS is a feed you steer. Pick what you're curious about and every swipe tunes what comes next.
Open this card in the appMore from Consciousness
- The US Army once wrote a report on leaving your body.
- For over 20 years, the US government paid people to spy with their minds.
- Long-time meditators produce brainwaves most people rarely reach.
- A placebo can work even when you know it is a placebo.
- Can awareness continue after the heart stops?
- Do moments of mass emotion ripple through random numbers?