biopsych- localisation of function Flashcards
define localisation of function
Localisation of function is the idea that certain functions e.g. memory and language, have specific locations in the brain
name the 4 main AREAS in the brain and the 2 language centres in the brain
- motor area
- visual area
- auditory area
- somatosensory
- Broca’s area
- Wernicke’s area
Where is the motor area located (what lobe) and what is its function
location: motor area is in the frontal lobe
function: motor area’s role is to send signals to muscles for voluntary movements
Where is the visual area located (what lobe) and what is its function
location: visual area is in the Occipital lobe
function: visual area’s role is to control colour, shapes, depth, movement - so is used for visual information
Where is the auditory area located (what lobe) and what is its function
location: auditory area is in the temporal lobe
function: the auditory area’s role is to process acoustic information including sound, loudness, pitch, tempo, volume
where is the somatosensory area located (what lobe) and what is its function
location: somatosensory area is in the parietal lobe
function: the somatosensory area is for sensory information including pressure, pain, temperature all from different parts of the body
where is the language centre called Broca’s area located (what lobe) and what is its function
location: Broca’s area is in the frontal lobe
function: speech production
Paul Broca discovered this on patient tan in a post-mortum he found a lesion in left frontal lobe, responsible for speech production so experience Broca’s aphasia resulting in slow and articulate speech
speech is effortful
non- fluent aphasia
where is the language centre called Wernicke’s area located (what lobe) and what is its function
location: Wernicke’s area is in the temporal lobe
function: language comprehension and processing
Carl Wernicke discovered this on patients that had lesions, they could speak fluent sentences but they didn’t make any sense (aphasisa) and the patients are unable to comprehend language
word salad
fluent aphasia
What did Wernicke conclude overall about language sentences
Concluded that motor regions are in Broca’s area and sensory regions are in Wernicke’s areas
evaluation 1 - limitation
indiv differences
e.g. evidence to suggest w…….. have larger br…. and wer….. are.’s than m…
however this suggests b…. bia..
A limitation of localisation of function is that it does not consider individual differences. For example there is evidence to suggests that women have larger Broca’s areas than males. Therefore, implying that women find communication through language easier than males. However, this suggests that localisation has beta bias, implying that any differences in the size of Broca’s areas, have been ignored. This means that it lacks generalisability due to the research assuming localisation is the same in both males and females.
evaluation 2- limitation
Furthermore, there is a confli….theory which suggests loca…….n of function is biologically r…………
e.g. evidence lashl.. 1930 suggests the equipotentiality theory is that when there’s injury to the brain, other functions that are of a higher order, can take responsi…….
Furthermore, there is a conflicting theory which suggests that localisation of function is biologically reductionist.
The evidence is by Lashley 1930 who suggested the equipotentiality theory, which is when there’s an injury to the brain. This implies that high mental functions are not localised because they take responsibility over low functions when an injury occurs.
This demonstrates how localisation is reductionist because it reduces the complex processes in the brain, which casts doubt on localising a function
evaluation 3- strength
case studies
patient Ta.
however there’s reduced v…….
There’s research support for localisations, using case studies.
For example, Broca’s aphasia was discovered to impair speech production through the use of Patient Tan’s postmortem examination, whereas Wernicke’s aphasia impairs language comprehension which was also concluded by a case study .
However, it reduces the validity of these findings because it is reductionist. The researchers only studied case studies such as individuals including patient Tan. Case studies don’t provide enough supporting evidence for their theory because it is based off of specific individuals and their damage, which cannot be generalised.
evaluation 4 - limitation
critics argue that comm……. may be more important than loca………
e.g. wernicke argued independence of functions, so they can int……
therefore it is not seen as holistic due to it focusing on specific functions rather than understanding the pro….. between functio…. to look at the whole picture
therefore, when comp….. behaviour occurs the stimuli must be proc….. using the co…… of functions, to form a r…….
In addition, another limitation is critics argue that communication is more important than localisation.
For example, Wernicke argued there must be independence of functions, so that all functions can interact.
This suggests that localisation does not give a holistic view because localisation focuses on each function separately.
Therefore, when complex behaviour occurs the stimuli must be processed using the connects of functions, to form a response.
