ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the integrationist perspective in its various forms and argues that the case for considering the corpus callosum as having a significant role in human cognition. Historically functions of an extreme nature have been attributed to the corpus callosum. The topographical excitatory or 'carbon-copy' hypothesis was first suggested by R. W. Sperry and since developed by G. Berlucchi, but it has been the implicit theory behind many discussions of callosal functions. One of the principal attractions of the diffuse inhibitory view of the corpus callosum is that it allows for the possibility of asymmetric hemisphere function without resorting to additional assumptions concerning the inherent asymmetry of the brain. The diffuse excitatory hypothesis also appears to avoid one of the theoretical problems raised by the diffuse inhibitory hypothesis. Both gross anatomy and degeneration studies have shown an abundance of roughly homotopic connections between the cerebral hemispheres.
