Biopsych - Localisation Of The Brain

Question 1

What is localisation of function in the brain

Answer 1

Different parts of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, tasks, processes and activities
If certain area damaged through illness or injury - function with behaviour also affected

Question 2

What is the Brain divided into and surrounded by

Answer 2

Two hemispheres
Left and right
Surrounded by cerebral cortex

Question 3

What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex

Answer 3

Frontal lobe - big section at the front
Parietal lobe - section at the top in the middle
Occipital lobe - small section at the back
Temporal lobe - section at the bottom

Question 4

What are the areas of specialisations in the brain

Answer 4

Motor cortex 
Somatosensory cortex 
Visual cortex 
Auditory cortex 
Broca’s area 
Wernickes area

Question 5

Define motor cortex

Answer 5

Region of frontal lobe responsible for voluntary movement

Question 6

Define the somatosensory area

Answer 6

Area of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information. For example information related to skin such as touch

Question 7

Define visual cortex

Answer 7

Part of occipital lobe that processes visual information from the eyes, from visual fields

Damage - blindness

Question 8

Define auditory vortex

Answer 8

Located in the temporal lobe and concerned with the analysis of speech- based information.

Damage - hearing loss

Question 9

Define Broca’s area

Answer 9

An area of the frontal lobe of the brain in the left hemisphere (in most people) responsible for speech production.

Damage to this leads to brocas aphasia - slow lacking in fluency speech (tan)

Question 10

Define Wernicke’s area

Answer 10

An area of the temporal lobe (enclosing the auditory cortex) in the left hemisphere (in most people) responsible for language comprehension.
Damage leads to Wernicke’s aphasia - nonsense words

Question 11

Outline contribution of scientists such as Broca’s and Wernicke to understanding of human brain

Answer 11

Established 2 separate language areas in the brain
Language is restricted to left side of brain
Broca’s area = left frontal lobe speech production

Wernickes - patients has no problem understanding language
Difficulty producing
Identified area in temporal lobe - language comprehension

Question 12

What is a strength of localisation of function (brain scanning evidence)

Answer 12

There is brain scanning evidence to support that functions are localised.
Petersen et al. (1988) used brain scans to demonstrate Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task.

This suggests that these parts of the brain have different functions thus supporting the concept of localisation.

Question 13

What is another strength of localisation of function (neurosurgical evidence)

Answer 13

There is neurosurgical evidence to support that functions are localised.
Dougherty et a. (2002) reported on 44 OCD patients who had undergone a cingulotomy (procedure where the cingulate gyrus is lesioned). A post-surgical follow-up after 32 weeks showed a third had a successful response to the surgery and 14% a partial response.
Behaviour and symptoms for mental illness localised

Question 14

What is another strength of localisation of function (case studies)

Answer 14

There is case study evidence to support that functions are localised.
Phineas Gage was involved in an accident

Steel pole through his frontal lobe and out of the top of his head.

survived but personality changed he became quick-tempered and rude which suggests that personality and temperament is localised within the frontal lobe.

Question 15

What is a weakness of localisation of function (some functions distributed holistically

Answer 15

higher cognitive functions are distributed in a more holistic way in the brain.

removed areas of the cortex rats that were learning a maze. No area was proven to be more important than any other in terms of the rat’s ability to learn the maze. The process of learning appeared to require every part of the cortex not a certain area.

learning is too complex to be localised and involves the whole brain.

Question 16

What is another weakness of localisation of function (functional recovery)

Answer 16

Functional recovery shows that localisation of function can change.

When the brain is damaged through illness or accident the rest of the brain appears able to reorganise itself in an attempt to recover the lost function.

For example, there is a girl who lives with only half a brain.

Weakens localisation view of the brain, supports holistic