5. Localisation Of Function In The Brain AO1 Flashcards
What was the view of the holistic theory?
That all parts of the brain were involved in processing thought and action
What was later found out about localisation theory?
Specific areas of the brain were later linked with specific physical and psychological functions
What was discovered about a part of a brain being damaged?
If an area of the brain is damaged through illness or injury, the function associated with that area is also affected
What is the brain divided into?
The left and right hemispheres
What is lateralisation?
Some physical and psychological functions are controlled by a particular hemisphere
Which hemisphere controls which side of the body?
Generally, the last side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere and vice versa
What is the outer layer of the brain called?
The cerebral cortex
What separates humans from other animals?
The cerebral cortex is about 3mm thick and is highly developed
How many lobes are located in the cortex?
4
What are the lobes located in the cortex?
Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
Where is the motor area located?
At the back of the frontal lobe (both hemispheres)
What does the motor area do and what might damage cause?
Controls voluntary movement, may result in loss of control over fine motor movements
Where is the somatosensory area located?
At the front of the parietal lobes
What does the somatosensory area do?
Processes sensory information from the skin
Where is the visual area located?
In the occipital lobe at the back of the brain
What does the visual area do and what might damage cause?
Eye sends information from right visual field to left visual cortex and vice versa - damage to left hemisphere could produce blindness in right visual field or both eyes
Where is the auditory area located?
In the temporal lobe
What does the auditory area do and what might damage cause?
Analyses speech based information - May produce partial hearing loss depending on severity of injury
Where is Broca’s area?
Left frontal lobe
What is Broca’s area responsible for?
Speech production
What can damage to Broca’s area cause?
Broca’s aphasia - characterised by speech that is slow and lacking in fluency, may have difficulty finding words for naming objects
Where is Wernicke’s area?
The back of the temporal lobe
What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?
Language comprehension
What can damage to Wernicke’s area cause?
Patients produce language but have problems understanding it, they produce fluent meaningless speech
What do patients with Wernicke’s aphasia produce?
Nonsense words as part of their speech
