biopsychology- localisation of function

Question 1

name the 4 lobes we study

Answer 1

frontal , parietal, occipital and temporal

Question 2

what is a lobe ?

Answer 2

lobes are areas in the brain which have certain functions and within these lobes are cortexes with functions

Question 3

where is the motor area ?

Answer 3

back of frontal lobe in both hemispheres

Question 4

what does the motor area do ?

Answer 4

controls movement

Question 5

which area of the body does left hemisphere control

Answer 5

right side of the body

Question 6

where is the somatosensory area ?

Answer 6

front of parietal lobe in both hemispheres

Question 7

what does the somatosensory area do ?

Answer 7

controls what we sense and different parts of the body are devoted to different parts of the cortex

Question 8

where is the visual area?

Answer 8

occipital lobe- information in the right visual field goes to the left side of the brain. vice versa

Question 9

what does the visual area do ?

Answer 9

processes visual information

Question 10

where is the auditory area ?

Answer 10

temporal lobe (in the middle)

Question 11

what does the auditory area do ?

Answer 11

analyze speech based information

Question 12

where is broca’s area ?

Answer 12

frontal lobe only left hemisphere

Question 13

what does broca’s area do ?

Answer 13

controls speech production and fluency of speech

Question 14

how was broca’s area discovered ?

Answer 14

post-mortem on patient ‘tan’

Question 15

what happens if broca’s area is injured?

Answer 15

speech is slow , laborious and lacks fluency

Question 16

where is Wernicke’s area ?

Answer 16

back of temporal lobe on left side of the brain

Question 17

what does Wernicke’s area do ?

Answer 17

controls language comprehension

Question 18

what happens if Wernicke’s area is injured?

Answer 18

lack of meaningful speech and making up words

Question 19

when did broca and wernicke discover lanuage areas of the brain?

Answer 19

1860s

Question 20

what is localisation of function?

Answer 20

The idea that different parts of the brain are associated with different functions. It follows that if one area of the brain is damaged then the function of that area will also be faulty.

Question 21

another name for localisation of function?

Answer 21

cortical specialisation

Question 22

Explain the hemispheric lateralisation of the brain

Answer 22

brain is divided into two sides, right and left hemisphere.
some of our psychological traits are dominated by either side.
generally activity on the left side of the body is controlled by the right side of the brain and vice versa
the outerlayer of the brain = cerebral cortex/grey matter

Question 23

what was Tulvings research into localisation of function ?

Answer 23

Tulving found that semantic and episodic memories reside in different areas of the prefrontal cortex. This suggests that different areas of the brain have different functions. Thus is localised.

Question 24

what is the neurological evidence of localisation?

Answer 24

A researcher found that in 44 patients with extreme OCD who had undergone a lesioning to the cingulate gyrus, after 32 weeks a third of the patients symptoms had improved. Suggesting localisation.

Question 25

refuting research for localisation…

Answer 25

Lashley got rats to do a maze and then removed matter from their cortex to see if it effected them, it did not, suggesting the brain should be considered holistically as opposed to being localised.

Question 26

how does brain plasticity criticise localisation of function ?

Answer 26

plasticity suggests the brain can change over time and areas of the brain can compansate for other areas suggesting it should be considered holistically

Question 27

evaluate localisation of function

Answer 27

+tulving
+ case study - Phineas gage - iron rod into frontal lobe of LH and found drastic personality changes
- lashley
-brain plasticity