The brain is divided into two halves called hemispheres. The two halves of the brain are connected by the corpus callosum as well as some smaller connections. The importance of these connections is that they enable both hemispheres to communicate with each other. Without them you have, in essence, two brains. For example, the right hemisphere of your brain controls your left hand, while the power of speech is usually controlled by a region of the left hemisphere. This means that people who are born without the connection between the two hemispheres cannot say what their left hand is doing unless they can see the hand.
Arguably, the most important research into lateral specialisation (or hemispheric asymmetry) was conducted by Roger Sperry and his colleagues during the 1960s and 70s. They worked with so-called ‘split-brain’ patients, individuals who had undergone a callosotomy or cutting of the corpus callosum as a form of treatment for severe epilepsy (see Box 1).
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