THE BIG SUCCESS OF THE YOUNG PSYCHOLOGISTS
The group that received the award in the ceremony in XVI. National Psychology Congress organized in Mersin reminded that the same award was also received by İzmir University of Economics again two years ago.
Pırıl Hepsomalı, who answered our questions about the study, stated that 20-30 years ago it was a common operation to separate the brain hemispheres in order to decrease the attacks of epilepsy patients. The two scientists Sperry and Gazzaniga who won the Nobel Prize in 1981 with their experimental studies on determining the psychological processes in “split brain” patients discovered that the two brain hemispheres were different from each other or asymmetric in terms of both their architecture and function. Burcu Verim, who underlined that with this discovery, the studies on the existence of the various specializations in brain hemispheres were accelerated, said, “Although each hemispheres are specialized to perform different functions, since there is a neural bridge combining the two hemispheres, two brains are aware of each other. Such a brain structure avails the information to process more effectively. According to Gizem Arabacı, “While the neural bridge lets the two brains to be aware of each other, it makes it difficult for the two brain hemispheres to perform their specialized functions. Because, the reaction given to stimulation presented to any hemisphere is not recorded as the reaction of that hemisphere alone. The other hemisphere becomes aware of that reaction by means of the neural bridge even before the reaction is created.”
In order to solve this procedural problem, very short stimulations that do not let the neural information to be transferred from one hemisphere to another are used in the study that Dr. Seda Dural and course responsible Assoc. Prof. Hakan Çetinkaya were the scientific advisors. With this technique named split visual field task, it is guaranteed that the visual information presented to the subjects in less than one fifth of the second stays in that hemisphere and therefore the reaction is related to the said hemisphere. In the study, the subjects are asked to match the colors and the names seen on right and left of the screen in very short time and their reaction time is calculated. In the meantime, receptors are placed around the eyes of the participants to be sure that they focus on the screen.
The young researchers reported that in color-name matching mission, a dominance of the left-brain was detected and they underlined that the methodology they used in the research was very important for leading other studies. The research team stated that the left-brain was quicker in reacting and right-brain was giving false reactions more. They underlined the fact that this specialization could result from the dominant role of language in left hemisphere. The team stated that they were very thankful to their managers who supported them and who worked to make İzmir University of Economics a center of science.
Group mentor Dr. Seda Dural indicated that it was very important for the students to have the opportunity to work in laboratories while they were still taking an undergraduate education and the Departments of Psychology in other universities had to have this opportunity too.
Course responsible Assoc. Prof. Hakan Çetinkaya stated that the education model he developed in Research Techniques in Psychology and Laboratory Techniques and Instrumentation in Psychology courses was a good example for education-research unity. He also said that the model was analyzed and appreciated by “EUROPLAT, the European Network for Psychology Learning and Teaching”. He emphasized that the greening buds in the independent academic atmosphere of İzmir University of Economics were already bearing fruits.
