Nash Psychology

Click here to watch a mockumentary that students created for homework.  

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between eye movements and dreaming.

The study had three hypotheses:

1. There will be a significant association between REM sleep and dreaming.

2. There will be a significant positive correlation between the estimate of the duration of dreams and the length of eye-movement

3. There will be a significant association between the pattern of eye movement and the context of the dream

Procedure/Method

The nine participants were seven adult males and two adult females. Five were studied intensively, while only a small amount of data was collected on the other four just to back up the findings of the main five.

The participants were studied under controlled laboratory conditions, whereby they reported to the laboratory just before their usual bedtime. They had been asked to eat normally but to avoid caffeine or alcohol on the day of the study. The participants went to bed in a quiet, dark room.

An electroencephalograph (EEG) was used to amplify and record the signals of electrodes which were attached to the participants face and scalp. Two or more electrodes were attached near to the participants’ eyes to record electrical changes caused by eye movement. Two or three further electrodes were attached to the scalp to record brain activity which indicated the participants’ depth of sleep. The participants then went to bed in a quiet, dark room.

The end is CUT OFF so here’s the rest of the narration:

“The question becomes: What happens when you allow both hands together to try and solve the problem? And what we find out is that they fight over each other. One hand knows how to do it and one hand does not. And so they more or less squabble. And the reason for this is that the hemispheres are disconnected. The right hemisphere controls the left hand and the left hemisphere controls the right hand and these are almost mutually independent systems as if two people were fighting over performing th task. One knew how and the other d one would fight for dominance over the situation. What have we gained from this research into split-brains? It is now possible to localize in one half brain, basic mental processes like learning and memory. This cuts the complexities of brain research almost in half so that in the future we can expect to achieve deeper insights into the mechanics of how the brain really works.” END

Click here to play the Split Brain Experiments Game

- What is a “split brain”?
- What happens if you surgically remove the connection called corpus calossum between the two brain hemispheres?
- What is the classic split brain experiment?
- What have we learned about the brain from split brain operated patients?
- To which of the hemispheres are the left and right vision fields connected?
- What are the characteristics of the right and left brain hemispheres?

The brain is made up of two halves, or hemispheres. These hemispheres are connected to each other through a system consisting of millions of nerve fibres. Therefore, each hemisphere is continually informed about what is happening in the other. What happens if the connection is broken? In this game you can follow a classic experiment with a patient whose corpus callosum connection has been surgically removed.

In this game you perform the classic split brain experiment used by Nobel Laureate Roger Sperry when he discovered differences between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. See how the patient reacts and try to figure out how come he is acting the way he does. In order to be able to proceed with your research you have to get more money, and when applying for more grants you have to report on your findings. If you manage to make correct conclusions you’ll be awarded with more grants and eventually your research will be published in a scientific journal.

Click here to play the Pavlov’s Dog game and access related reading based on some of the scientific achievements of Ivan Pavlov, who was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Even though the first image that comes to mind with Ivan Pavlov is his drooling dogs, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works.