Biopsychology A01 / Definitions Flashcards
1
Q
Localisation of function
A
Specific areas of the brain linked to specific physical and psychological functions
2
Q
Lateralisation
A
Some physical and psychological functions are controlled by a particular hemisphere
3
Q
Motor area
A
- frontal lobe
- controls voluntary movement
- damage results in loss of control over fine motor movements
4
Q
Somatosensory area
A
- parietal lobe
- processes sensory info from skin
5
Q
Visual area
A
- occipital lobe
- each eye sends info from the RVF to the LH & vice versa.
6
Q
Auditory area
A
- temporal lobe
- analyses speech based info
- damage may produce partial hearing loss
7
Q
Broca’s area
A
- left of frontal lobe
- linked with speech production
- damage results in Broca’s aphasia
8
Q
Broca’s aphasia
A
- Speech is slow & lacks fluency
9
Q
Wernicke’s area
A
- left temporal lobe
- linked with language understanding
10
Q
Wernicke’s aphasia
A
- produce fluent but meaningless speech
- often produce nonsense words
11
Q
Contralateral
A
- In the motor area the RH controls the left side of the body & vice versa
12
Q
Brain plasticity
A
- During infancy the brain experiences a rapid growth in synaptic connections
- Rarely used connections deleted & frequently used connections strengthened
13
Q
3 structural changes in the brain following trauma
A
1) Axonal sprouting
2) Denervation supersensitivity
3) Recruitment of similar areas
14
Q
fMRI
A
- detects changes in blood oxygenation & flow
- produces 3D image showing active areas of brain
15
Q
EEG
A
- measures electrical activity in brain using electrodes
- scan shows overall electrical activity
- often used as diagnostic tool
