Biopsychology - Localisation And Lateralisation Of Function In The Brain Flashcards
What is the holistic theory of brain function?
The theory that all parts of the brain were involved in the process of thought & action
What is localisation of brain function?
The theory that states different areas of the brain controls specific physical/behavioural functions in the body
What are the 4 lobes of the brain?
Temporal
Occipital
Frontal
Parietal
What is lateralisation of brain function?
The theory that states different hemispheres of the brain control specific physical/behavioural functions in the body
How does these two theories differ from the holistic theory?
They both go into more detail whereas the holistic theory puts down all behaviour & function to the whole brain
What does it mean by saying the brain is ‘contralateral’?
The different hemispheres control the opposite side of the body’s function e.g. left hand side -> right hemisphere
What is the outer layer of the brain called?
The cerebral cortex
What is the cerebral cortex also known as & how thick is it?
Grey matter -> 3mm thick
What does the frontal lobe do?
Controls movement, problem solving, concentration, thinking, behaviour, mood & personality
What does the temporal lobe do?
Controls hearing, language & memory
What does the parietal lobe do?
Controls sensations, language, perception, body awareness & attention
What does the occipital lobe do?
Controls vision & perception
What does the cerebellum do?
Controls posture, balance, coordination & movement
What does the brain stem do?
Controls vital functions e.g. consciousness, breathing & heart rate
What are the 2 areas in the brain?
Broca’s area
Wernicke’s area
What are Broca’s & Wernicke’s area
Language centres of the brain?
How did Broca discover Broca’s area?
He visited a patient who could only say Tan, when he died, his brain & several other patients with the same speech problems were cut open & he found damage to their left frontal hemisphere. This led him to conclude there was a language centre in this part of the brain that is critical for speech production
Specifically, What does Broca’s area control?
Speech production
What happens if there is damage to Broca’s area?
Broca’s aphasia -> problems with producing fluent speech (or any speech at all)
What led Wernicke to discover Wernicke’s area?
After Broca’s area was discovered, Wernicke discovered that some of Broca’s patients could understand speech, but couldn’t talk, people with issues in Wernicke’s area could speak but couldn’t understand language. He discovered that language involves both motor & sensory regions of the brain so Broca’s & Wernicke’s area are linked
What happens if someone has an issue with Wernicke’s area?
Wernicke’s aphasia -> difficulty understanding & assigning meaning to speech
What is the motor cortex?
Responsible for voluntary motor movements
Both hemispheres have a motor cortex that controls the muscles on the opposite side of the body
Different parts of the motor cortex exert control over different parts of the body & the regions are arranged logically next to the other e.g. foot & leg regions
Where is the motor cortex located?
The frontal lobe, along the precentral gyrus
What is the somatosensory cortex?
The cortex that detects sensory events from different parts of the body
Uses sensory information from the skin & produces sensations of touch, pressure, pain & temp, which is then localised to the specific body regions
There are 1 in both hemispheres which control the sensory info, of the opposite side
Where is the somatosensory cortex found?
In the parietal lobe along the postcentral gyrus
What is the postcentral gyrus?
Area of the cortex that processes the sensory information related to touch
What is the visual centre of the brain?
1 in each hemisphere (contrilateral)
Contains several different types of visual info. E.g. shape/colour
Describe how a visual stimulus is interpreted by the brain?
Light enters & strikes the photoreceptors in the back of the eyes, nerve impulses from the retina are then sent to the optic nerve. Some of them travel to the areas of the brain involved in coordinating circadian rhythms, but majority terminate at the thalamus & pass the information to the visual cortex
Where is the visual centre located?
In the visual cortex, in the occipital lobe
What is the auditory centre of the brain?
The part of the brain is concerned with hearing
Describe how an auditory stimulus is interpreted by the brain?
Sound waves are converted to nerve impulses, which travel via the auditory cortex. The nerve then stops at the brain stem, where it is decoded (e.g. duration & intensity of a sound). It then goes to the thalamus, where the stimulus is processed further. The stimulus then goes to the auditory cortex, where it is recognised & may result in an appropriate response
Where is the auditory centre located?
The temporal lobes on both hemispheres
What is the brain stem & what is its function?
Regulates involuntary behaviours e.g. breathing/sleeping/sneezing
Includes the hypothalamus (in the midbrain
Regulates eating, drinking & the endocrine system -> to maintain homeostasis
What it’s the limbic system?
Part of the brain that controls emotions
It’s around the central core of the brain, interconnected with the hypothalamus (contains the hippocampus -> key roles)
What is the cerebrum & what is its function?
Regulates our higher intellectual processes
Has outermost layer as cerebral cortex (grey matter)
Made up of left & right hemispheres which are connected by the corpus callosum
