Definition for Roger Sperry
From Biology Forums Dictionary
Sperry obtained his M.A. in psychology at Oberlin College, followed by a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1941. He conducted postdoctoral research under Karl Lashley at Harvard and at the Yerkes Primate Center. His early research challenged the traditional notion that nerves from sense organs attach to brain areas in nonspecific ways. Later, he and his students advanced the psychological study of split-brain patients by developing laboratory tasks that allowed for precise assessment of the frequently subtle impairments experienced by recipients of the radical operation. In 1981, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology, primarily for his pioneering work during the 1960s on split-brain phenomena. Sperry wrote later about the mind-body relationship and the ethical implications of modern research on brain physiology and behavior.
