Biopsychology: Brain localisation

Question 1

The brain is divided into ____ hemispheres.

Answer 1

2

Question 2

The two hemispheres of the brain are called the _____ and _____ hemispheres.

Answer 2

Left and right

Question 3

Define localisation of function:

Answer 3

The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours, processes or activities.

Question 4

What is the role of the motor area?

Answer 4

Involved in regulating movement

Question 5

What is the role of the somatosensory area?

Answer 5

Processes sensory information (e.g. touch)

Question 6

What is the role of the visual area?

Answer 6

Receives and processes visual information.

Question 7

What is the role of the auditory area?

Answer 7

Analysis of speech-based information.

Question 8

What is the role of the Broca’s area?

Answer 8

Responsible for speech production.

Question 9

Where is the Broca’s area located?

Answer 9

• Left hemisphere
• Frontal lobe

Question 10

What is the role of the Wernicke’s area?

Answer 10

Responsible for language comprehension.

Question 11

Where is the Wernicke’s area located?

Answer 11

• Left hemisphere
• Temporal lobe

Question 12

What is meant by lateralisation?

Answer 12

Our behavioural and psychological functions are dominated by a specific hemisphere.

Question 13

What are the 4 main lobes?

Answer 13

• Frontal lobe
• Temporal lobe
• Parietal lobe
• Occipital lobe

Question 14

In the 19th century, the brain was seen through a _____ point of view.

Answer 14

Hollistic

Question 15

The left side of the body is controlled by the _____ hemisphere.

Answer 15

Right

Question 16

The right side of the body is controlled by the ____ hemisphere

Answer 16

Left

Question 17

Impact of damage to the Broca’s area:

Answer 17

Broca’s asphasia

Question 18

What are the impacts of Broca’s asphasia?

Answer 18

Slow speech that is lacking in fluency.

Question 19

Who was Broca’s case study?

Answer 19

Tan

Question 20

What was wrong with Tan?

Answer 20

Tan had Broca’s asphasia- meaning his speech was impaired and he could only say “tan”.

Question 21

Impact of damage to the Wernicke’s area:

Answer 21

Wernicke’s asphasia

Question 22

Impacts of Wernicke’s asphasia:

Answer 22

People will say nonsense words and speak abnormally.

Question 23

Name the 4 evaluation points for brain localisation:

Answer 23

• Evidence from neurosurgery (S)
• Evidence from brain scans (S)
• Language localisation questioned (L)
• Case study evidence (S/L)

Question 24

Explain evidence from neurosurgery as a strength supporting brain localisation:

Answer 24

• Damage to areas of the brain has been linked to mental disorders.
• Neurosurgery has been used to treat some mental disorders and has been successful
• Success of procedures suggests that behaviours associated with serious mental disorders may be localised.

Question 25

Explain evidence from brain scans as a strength supporting brain localisation:

Answer 25

- Supports the idea that many everyday brain functions are localised. - Peterson used brain scans to demonstrate how how the Wernickes area was active during a listening task and the Broca's area during a reading task. - Objective methods for measuring brain activity have provided sound scientific evidence that many brain functions are localised.

Question 26

Explain language localisation questioned as a limitation criticising brain localisation:

Answer 26

- Language may not be localised just to the Broca's and Wernicke's areas. - Advances in brain imaging techniques (e.g. fMRI) mean that neural processes can be studied with more clarity than ever before. - Language function is more hollistic than we first thought.

Question 27

Explain case study as a strength and limitation for brain localisation:

Answer 27

- Phineas Gage supports localisation theory. - Difficult to generalise results from the findings of a single individual. - Conclusions drawn may depend on the subjective interpretation of the researcher

Question 28

What is hemispheric lateralisation:

Answer 28

The idea that the two hemispheres of the brain are functionally different and control different processes.

Question 29

What occurs in split-brain research:

Answer 29

Corpus Callosum is severed.

Question 30

Who done research into split-brains?

Answer 30

Sperry

Question 31

Explain the procedure for Sperry's research into split-brains:

Answer 31

- 11 people with severed corpus callosom were studied on either the right or left visual field.

Question 32

What were the findings of Sperry's research into split-brains:

Answer 32

- Image shown in RVF could be desrcibed but not drawn - Image shown in LVF could be drawn but not described

Question 33

What are the 3 evaluation points for hemispheric lateralisation research:

Answer 33

- Lateralisation in the connected brain (S) - One brain (L) - Lateralisation VS Plasticity (L)

Question 34

Explain lateralisation in the connected brain as a strength of hemispheric lateralisation:

Answer 34

- Even in connected brains the two hemispheres process information differently. - Fink used PET scans to find that when patients with connected brains were told to look at an image on a whole, their RH was more active. And when told to look at smaller details, their LH was more active. - Hemispheric lateralisation is present in both split and connected brains

Question 35

Explain one brain as a limitation for hemispheric lateralisation:

Answer 35

- Research suggests that people do not have a dominant hemisphere that which influences a specific personality. - No evidence to prove that theory.

Question 36

Explain lateralisation vs plasticity as a limitation for hemispheric lateralisation:

Answer 36

- Lateralisation is adaptive as it enables two tasks to be preformed simultaneously - However neural plasticity could also be seen as adaptive as following trauma, functions can be taken over from damaged parts by healthy parts of the brain.

Question 37

Explain research support as a strength for Sperrys split-brain research:

Answer 37

- Gazzainga found that split-brain pateinnts do perform better - Supports the idea that the functions of the LH and RH are different.

Question 38

Explain generalisation issues as a limitation of Sperrys split-brain research:

Answer 38

- Cause and effect relationships are hard to examine. - Behaviour of split-brain group was compared to a control group with none of them having epliepsy. - Major confounding variable as any differences between the two groups may have been die to epliepsy rather than split-brain.

Question 39

What are the three evaluation points for Sperry's split brain research:

Answer 39

- Research support (S) - Generalisation issues (L) - Ethics (S)

Question 40

Explain ethics as a strength for Sperrys split-brain research:

Answer 40

- Pateienrs already had the split-brain operation done - Participantants had informed consent.