Mike or me? Self-recognition in a split-brain patient.
A split-brain patient (epileptic individual whose corpus callosum had been severed to minimize the spread of seizure activity) was asked to recognize morphed facial stimuli--presented separately to each hemisphere--as either himself or a familiar other. Both hemispheres were capable of face recognition, but the left hemisphere showed a recognition bias for self and the right hemisphere a bias for familiar others. These findings suggest a possible dissociation between self-recognition and more generalized face processing within the human brain.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Moore Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA. david.j.turk@dartmouth.edu
David J
DJ
Turk
Todd F
TF
Heatherton
William M
WM
Kelley
Margaret G
MG
Funnell
Michael S
MS
Gazzaniga
C Neil
CN
Macrae
D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000293:injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012649:Self Concept