COVERT ORIENTING IN THE SPLIT BRAIN REVEALS HEMISPHERIC-SPECIALIZATION FOR OBJECT-BASED ATTENTION

Theories in cognitive science have debated whether visual selective attention is a space-based or object-based process. To investigate this issue, we applied a new experimental paradigm that permits the simultaneous measurement of both space-based and object-based attention to a split-brain patient with disconnected cerebral hemispheres. The data demonstrate both space-based and object-based components to the allocation of attention, and reveal that the two processes have different neural substrates. These findings are related to previous research on split-brain and unilateral parietal patients.