AOS 2 DP 2 Flashcards
Localisation
different areas of the brain have different functions
Lateralisation
Each hemisphere appears to be dominant in particular activities
What are three main areas of the brain
- Forebrain
- Hindbrain
- Midbrain
Hindbrain
Located at the base of the brain, includes the cerebral, pons and medulla which function to collect vital bodily processes
Cerebellum
coordinates smooth and precise voluntary muscle movements, regulates posture and balance. Involved in learning and memory associated with movement
Pons
Helps transfer neural messages between various parts of the brain and spinal cord. Involved in arousal, sleep, daydreaming, waking and breathing.
Medula
controls automatic bodily functions that are essential for survival such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. Responsible for autonomic reflexes such as sneezing
Midbrain
involved in orienting movements, processing visual, auditory and tactile sensory information.
Reticular formation
screens incoming information, alerts higher brain centres to important information, regulates arousal and alertness
Reticular activating system
Regulates arousal by either increasing or dampening activity. Influences what we pay attention to by highlighting information that’s important
Forebrain
Largest part of the brain, regulates complex cognitive processes
Hypothalamus
influences behaviours associated with basic biological needs like hunger thirst and sleep. Regulates the release of hormones
Thalamus
all sensory information is processed and filtered through the thalamus. Regulates arousal
Cerebrum
consists of the outer cerebral cortex and responsible for almost everything we consciously think, feel and do.
Cerebral cortex
Covers the outer portion of the forebrain
Why is the cerebral cortex deeply folded
- To increase the surface area
- To allow a large surface area into a small space
Functions of the Cerebral Cortex
- Integration of sensory information
- Control of precise motor movement
- Higher mental processing such as abstract thinking
Sensory Areas
Receive information provided by the various senses
Examples of Sensory Areas
- Somatosensory
- Auditory
- Vision
Motor Cortex
sends information about various bodily movements
Association Areas
Involved in higher mental functioning like decision making, integrated info from sensory and motor areas.
Frontal Lobe Functions
- Higher mental processing
- Controls voluntary movement
- Speech production
Association Areas in Frontal Lobe
involved in higher mental functions such as thinking, organising and planning, abstract thinking, judging and deciding. It is also associated with the expression of emotional behaviours and personality characteristics.
Damage to the Association Area of the Frontal Lobe
Difficulty to coordinate complex sequences of behaviours as well as making plans. It can also lead to difficulty displaying appropriate emotional responses
Primary Motor Cortex
Directs and controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles. The motor cortex of left side of frontal lobe will control voluntary movements in the right side of the body.
Broca’s Area
Located in the left frontal lobe, and is responsible for the production of articulate speech
Damage to the Broca’s area
It can cause Broca’s aphasia, which is an inability to produce fluent speech but without disruption to comprehension of spoken or written language.
Functions of Parietal Lobe
- Spatial ability
- Receive and process information from sensory receptors from skin
Association Area on Parietal Lobe
- Processes sensory information felt by your body as it moves
- Integrates visual information, such as visual attention and spatial awareness. This allows an individual to determine the spatial position of an object.
Damage to right parietal lobe
Damage here can lead to spatial neglect: an attentional disorder in which the sufferer fails to notice or attend to stimuli on left side of body
Primary Somatosensory Cortex
- Located at the front of each parietal lobes
- Receives and processes information from various sensory receptors on the skin
- Left somatosensory cortex receives and processes sensory information from right side of body and vice versa
Functions of Occipital Lobe
- Enables meaningful visual perceptions
- Information from the eyes are received and processed
Association Area in Occipital Lobe
Selects, organises and integrates features of the visual stimuli into meaningful visual perceptions
Damage to the Association Area of the Occipital Lobe
It is unlikely to cause blindness or a gap in sight, however may affect the ability to recognise things in sight
Primary visual cortex
Receives and is responsible for the initial processing of visual information from the eyes
Damage to the Primary Visual Cortex
If damaged, this can cause an individual to be unable to process visual stimuli
Temporal Lobe Functions
- Memory, object identification, face recognition
- Receives and processes sounds from ears
- Comprehension of speech
Association Area in Temporal Lobe
- Memory formation
- Facial recognition
- Object identification
Damage to the Association Area in Temporal Lobe
- Damage here can lead to facial agnosia
- Which is being unable to recognise the face of someone you know
Primary Auditory Cortex
Received auditory information from the ears, such as frequency and amplitude of the noise, and processes them into meaningful sound sensations
Wernicke’s area
- Located in left side of temporal lobe
- Involved in comprehension of speech
Damage to the Wernicke’s area
- Damage to the wernicke’s area causes Wernicke’s aphasia
- Whihc is the inability to comprehend meanings of spoken word or written language. Speech production or formation of speech is not disrupted but their speech is meaningless
