Independent and unified consciousness co-existence in commissurotomy cases
Abstract
Independent hemispheric consciousness was observed following complete commissurotomy under controlled laboratory conditions that restricted stimulus input and response output to a single hemisphere. Hemispheric specialization was investigated in this way. Consciousness of the self was tested directly as well and found to be represented in each of the hemispheres. Unified consciousness was evidenced in unaltered personality, character, humor, and past knowledge (autobiographical and knowledge of the world). Intact cortico-subcortical projections to intact subcortical regions are offered as explanation for why both unified and independent are possible in the same brain.
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