Biopsychology - 05 LoF & Plasticity And Functional Recovery

Question 1

Prior to the 19th century what theory did scientists support of the brain?

Answer 1

holistic theory, that all parts of the brain were involved in the processing of though and action

Question 2

What is localisation of function?

Answer 2

The idea that certain functions like language, memory etc have certain locations in the brain

Question 3

What is the outer layer of the brain?

Answer 3

Cerebral cortex

Question 4

The cortex of both hemispheres are divided into how many lobes?

Answer 4

4

Question 5

What are the 4 lobes in the brain?

Answer 5

-Frontal lobe
-Parietal lobe
-Occipital lobe
-Temporal lobe

Question 6

What has two things have supported the idea of localisation of function?

Answer 6

-neuroimaging
-case studies

Question 7

Explain the case study of Phineas Gage

Answer 7

-1848 while working on rail line had a piece of iron go through his skull
-Although he survived he experienced a change in his personality
-provides evidence to support the theory of localisation of function as it was believed that the frontal lobe (where the iron stake caused damage) was responsible for personality

Question 8

What area is located in the frontal lobe?

Answer 8

motor area

Question 9

What is the frontal lobe responsible for?

Answer 9

-voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles in the body

Question 10

What did Hitzig & Fritsch (1870) discover that links to the motor area?

Answer 10

-Different muscles are coordinated by different areas of the motor cortex by electrically stimulating the motor area of dogs
-This resulted in muscular contractions in different areas of the body depending on where the probe was inserted

Question 11

How are the regions of the motor cortex arranged?

Answer 11

A logical order
the region that controls finger movement is located next to the region that controls the hand and arm and so on

Question 12

What happens when there is damage to the motor area?

Answer 12

loss of control over fine movements

Question 13

What area is located in the parietal lobe?

Answer 13

Somatosensory area

Question 14

What is the parietal lobe responsible for?

Answer 14

receiving incoming sensory information from the skin to produce sensations related to pressure, pain and temperature

Question 15

What did Robertson (1995) find that links to the somatosensory area?

Answer 15

this area of the brain is highly adaptable, with braille readers having a larger somatosensory area for their fingertips compared to normal sighted participants

Question 16

What area is located at the back of the occipital lobe?

Answer 16

visual area

Question 17

What is occipital lobe responsible for?

Answer 17

Receives and processes visual information and has different parts that process different types of information including colour, shape or movement

Question 18

What area is located in the temporal lobe?

Answer 18

auditory area

Question 19

What is the temporal lobe responsible for?

Answer 19

analysing and processing acoustic information
also contains different parts, the primary auditory area is involved in processing simple features of sound including volume, tempo and pitch

Question 20

What are the 2 language centres?

Answer 20

Broca’s area
Wernicke’s area

Question 21

Where is Broca’s area located?

Answer 21

back portion of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere

Question 22

How was Broca’s area discovered?

Answer 22

-Broca has a patient called Tan who was unable to speak other words other than ‘Tan’ but he did understand language
-post-mortem exam showed a lesion to the left frontal of Broca’s area
-This lead to him identifying the existence of a language centre critical for speech production

Question 23

What does damage to Broca’s area lead to?

Answer 23

Broca’s aphasia which is characterised by speech that is slow, laborious and inarticulate

Question 24

Where is Wernicke’s area located?

Answer 24

The back portion of the left temporal lobe

Question 25

What is Wernicke’s area associated with?

Answer 25

Understanding language

Question 26

Lesions to Wernicke’s area causes what?

Answer 26

Wernicke’s aphasia the ability to speak but no ability to understand language
patients will often produce nonsense words

Question 27

Case study of Tan by Broca (evaluation of LoF)

Answer 27

S- supports

P- tan lost ability to speak but was able to understand speech, in post-mortem damage left frontal lobe

E- left frontal lobe responsible for functions of speech. subsequent research of similar damage and brain scans confirmed findings + reliability

L- confirms findings supporting LoF

Question 28

Case study of EB by Danielli at al (evaluation LoF)

Answer 28

S- refutes

P- removed left side of brain lost language, 2 years later recovered fMRI showed right acted as left hemisphere

E- left hemisphere speech, but right was able to adapt and control language. EB young so not same as older people possibly

L-supports (without left no speech) but refutes (right adapted to act as left so function can be restored in different area)

Question 29

Lashley (evaluation of LoF)

Answer 29

S- refutes

P-removed parts of cortex of rats learning maze found no area had bigger impact it was the size of removed area that did

E- learning requires every part of cortex, but was conducted on rats so need to be cautious when generalising to humans

L- refutes should have more holistic approach or LoF may not apply for learning as it is complex

Question 30

Brain scan evidence Peterson et al (evaluation of LoF)

Answer 30

S- supports

P- Wernicke’s area active during listening task Broca’s area active during reading task so have different functions

E- Broca’s area in charge of reading and Wernicke’s area in charge of listening but might not be the case for other activities

L- supports 2 areas have 2 different functions

Question 31

What is plasticity?

Answer 31

the brain’s ability to change and adapt (functionally and physically) as a result of experience and new learning

Question 32

What are the 4 reasons for plasticity?

Answer 32

-Learning new skills
-Developmental changes
-Response to direct trauma to area of brain
-Response to indirect effects of damage such as brain swelling or strokes

Question 33

How does plasticity work?

Answer 33

1-Gain new experiences
2-Frequently used nerve pathways get stronger
3-Synaptic pruning (neurons that are rarely used die)
4-Brain in a continued state of change

Question 34

What did Boyke et al (2008) find?

Answer 34

-60-year-olds taught new skill, juggling
-found increases in neural growth in visual cortex
-when practicing stopped this was reversed

Question 35

What is an example of plasticity being negative?

Answer 35

Prolonged drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning

Question 36

Maguire, 2000 (brain plasticity)

Answer 36

-16 healthy, right-handed male licensed London taxi drivers MRI compared with 50 healthy right-handed males who did not drive taxis
-Posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers significantly larger
-Size of posterior hippocampus was positively correlated with amount of time spent as taxi driver
-suggests physical structure of brain is plastic and able to adapt

Question 37

Limitation of Maguire’s research

Answer 37

-Taxi drivers hippocampus size not tested before they became taxi drivers so we have no way of knowing id their larger size was due to completing the knowledge test and having experience or a pre-existing difference
-However the positive correlation makes the original conclusion more likely

Question 38

Kemperman et al, 1998 (brain plasticity)

Answer 38

-investigated whether enriched environment can alter the number of neurons in the brains of rats
-Found evidence of increased number of new neurons (particularly in the hippocampus) in rats housed in complex environments compared to lab cages
-supports because brains changed because of their experience

Question 39

Strength of Kemperman’s research

Answer 39

-scientific design
-rats studied before and after the change in environment
-so cause and effect can be shown in relation to changes of the brain due to experience

Question 40

Limitation of Kemperman’s research

Answer 40

-poor ability to generalise the results from rats to humans
-significant differences in terms of complexity of human behaviour and experinces

Question 41

Strength of research into brain plasticity

Answer 41

Practical application
-has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation
-following illness or injury to the brain, spontaneous recovery tends to slow down after a number of weeks so forms of physical therapy may be needed to maintain improvements in functioning
-can then be used to help people return to their lives & productive work, ultimately benefiting the wider community

Question 42

What are some of the techniques used in neurorehabilitation?

Answer 42

movement therapy
electrical stimulation