2.5 The divided brain: specialization of function

Question 1

Lateralization

Answer 1

The specialization of the left and right cerebral hemispheres for particular functions. Left is Language and writing. Right is non language.

Question 2

Broca’s area

Answer 2

An area of the left frontal lobe involved with speech.

Question 3

Wernicke’s area

Answer 3

An area of the left temporal lobe involved in processing written and spoken language.

Question 4

Aphasia

Answer 4

Loss or impairment of the ability to understand or express language.

Question 5

Epilepsy

Answer 5

A neurological disorder characterized by seizures that involve sudden, violent discharges of electrical activity in the brain.

Question 6

Split brain patients

Answer 6

Persons whose corpus callosum has been surgically severed.

Question 7

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 7

The area of the frontal lobe that lies in front of the motor cortex and is involved in higher mental functions such as thinking, planning, impulse control, and weighing the consequence of behavior.

Question 8

Laceration

Answer 8

A type of brain trauma in which a foreign object, such as a bullet or a piece of shrapnel, pierces the skull and injures the brain.

Question 9

Concussion

Answer 9

A jarring of the brain caused by a blow to the head.

Question 10

Plasticity

Answer 10

The ability of the brain to adapt itself after trauma or surgical alteration