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Split-Brain: what we know now and why this is important for understanding consciousness

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 09:25
Version 1 2023-06-09, 20:52
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 09:25 authored by Edward H F de Haan, Paul M Corballis, Steven A Hillyard, Carlo A Marzi, Anil SethAnil Seth, Victor A F Lamme, Lukas Volz, Mara Fabri, Elizabeth Schechter, Tim Bayne, Michael Corballis, Yair Pinto
Recently, the discussion regarding the consequences of cutting the corpus callosum (“split-brain”) has regained momentum (Corballis, Corballis, Berlucchi, & Marzi, 2018; Pinto et al., 2017; Pinto, Lamme, & de Haan, 2017; Volz & Gazzaniga, 2017; Volz, Hillyard, Miller, & Gazzaniga, 2018). This collective review paper aims to summarize the empirical common ground, to delineate the different interpretations, and to identify the remaining questions. In short, callosotomy leads to a broad breakdown of functional integration ranging from perception to attention. However, the breakdown is not absolute as several processes, such as action control, seem to remain unified. Disagreement exists about the responsible mechanisms for this remaining unity. The main issue concerns the first-person perspective of a split-brain patient. Does a split-brain harbor a split consciousness or is consciousness unified? The current consensus is that the body of evidence is insufficient to answer this question, and different suggestions are made to how future studies might address this paucity. In addition, it is suggested that the answers might not be a simple yes or no but that intermediate conceptualization need to be considered.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Neuropsychology Review

ISSN

1040-7308

Publisher

Springer

Department affiliated with

  • Informatics Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-03-17

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-05-21

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-03-17

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