Mask for Monkeys, used by Dr. Roger W. Sperry
name: label: Associated Name
content: Sperry, Roger W.
label: maker
content: Sperry, Roger W.
notes: label: Description
content: The career of Dr. Roger W. Sperry (1913-1994) spanned many scientific fields, including developmental neurology, experimental psychobiology, and human split-brain studies. Materials used by Sperry held within the Museum's collections were employed in experiments concerning the development and function of the brain and nervous system.
label: Description
content: In 1954 Sperry was named Hixon Professor of Psychobiology at the California Institute of Technology, where he began research into split-brain functions. This work involved the examination of epileptic patients who had undergone commissurotomy, a surgical procedure where the corpus callosum (mass of nerve fibers connecting the brain hemispheres) is severed. Sperry's studies led to a dramatic increase in the scientific understanding of consciousness and provided a strong outline for the specialized functions of the brain, including recognition of the abilities of the non-verbal right hemisphere. Furthermore, Sperry made a compelling scientific argument that mental events exert influence over the biological events of brain processing.
label: Description
content: Sperry won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1981 and the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1981.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Pasadena
topic: label: Subject
content: Nobel Prize
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Norma G. Sperry
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1999.0302.08
label: accession number
content: 1999.0302
label: catalog number
content: 1999.0302.08
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Psychological Apparatus
label: Object Name
content: psychological apparatus
label: Object Name
content: mask, monkey
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 14.2 cm x 19.1 cm x 16 cm; 5 9/16 in x 7 1/2 in x 6 5/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 1/2 in x 7 5/8 in x 6 1/4 in; 13.97 cm x 19.3675 cm x 15.875 cm