BIOPSYCHOLOGY - Localisation Of Function

Question 1

At face value, what three parts is the brain divided into?

Answer 1

the forebrain (front part of the brain), midbrain (middle part of the brain) and hindbrain (back part)

Question 2

What are the 4 regions of the brain?

Answer 2

• cerebrum
• diencephalon
• brain stem
• cerebellum

Question 3

Function of the CEREBRUM

Answer 3

• located in the forebrain as the largest part of the brain split into two hemispheres
• both hemispheres communicate to each other via corpus callosum
• contains 4 lobes (frontal, occipital, temporal, parietal)

Question 4

frontal lobe function

Answer 4

involved in thoughts and production of speech

Question 5

occipital lobe function

Answer 5

involved with processing of images

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Question 6

temporal lobe function

Answer 6

dealing with cognitive skills

Question 7

parietal lobe function

Answer 7

deals with sensory information

Question 8

Function of the DIENCEPHALON

Answer 8

• found inside the cerebrum above the brain stem
• responsible for sensory function, food intake and sleep cycle
• split into 4 sections (thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus, subthalamus)

Question 9

Function of the CEREBELLUM

Answer 9

• found below and behind the cerebrum and attached to the brainstem
• controls motor function, balance, and interpretation of information sent to brain via senses

Question 10

Function of the BRAINSTEM

Answer 10

• governs blood pressure
• breathing
• heartbeat
• some reflexes
• motor and sensory neurons pass through the brainstem, so impulses can travel between the brain and spinal cord

Question 11

What is localisation of function

Answer 11

the principle that specific functions such as language or memory have specific locations in the brain

Question 12

Function of the somatosensory cortex

Answer 12

• recieves sensory input from receptors in the skin including touch, pain, pressure and temperature from all areas of the body surface
• located in the parietal lobe of the brain
• top of the body is represented at the bottom of the SC and vice versa
• amount of somatosensory area dedicated to a body part reflects its sensitivity
• face and hand take up over half of the somatosensory area

Question 13

Function of the motor cortex

Answer 13

• responsible for the generation of voluntary movements
• located in back of frontal lobe
• both hemispheres have a motor cortex and function contralaterally
• different parts of the motor cortex control different parts of the body
• these parts are arranged logically e.g. part controlling foot is next to part controling leg

Question 14

input + damage

Visual and auditory centres

Answer 14

• recieves input directly from eyes and ears
• damage to them can lead to blindness and deafness

Question 15

Function of the visual centre

Answer 15

• primary visual centre located in the occipital lobe
• secondary visual areas provide additional processing to convert sensation into perception
• …because damage to SVAs does not lead to blindness but a loss of aspects of visual perception such as…
• Prosopagnosia (loss of ability to recognise and identify faces)
• Achromatoposia (loss of the ability to see in colour)

Question 16

Function of the auditory centre

Answer 16

• concerned with hearing
• lies within the temporal lobes in both hemispheres where the auditory cortex is located
• auditory pathways begin in the inner ear where soundwaves are converted to nerve impulses…
• which travel via auditory nerve to the auditory cortex

Question 17

name the two language centres

Answer 17

Brocas area and Wernickes area

Question 18

Function of Broca’s Area

Answer 18

• named after Paul Broca
• …who treated a patient named Tan who could understand spoken language but could not speak or put his thoughts down in writing
• located in the posterior portion of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere
• believed to be important for SPEECH PRODUCTION
• damage to the Broca’s area is known as Broca’s aphasia

Question 19

Function of Wernicke’s Area

Answer 19

• area of the brain dedicated to understanding language
• located in the posterior portion of the left temporal lobe
• damage to W’s A is Wernicke’s aphasia

Question 20

Wernicke’s proposition for language centres

Answer 20

• language involves separate motor and sensory regions located in different cortical regions
• motor: Broca’s area close to the area controlling the mouth, tongue and vocal chords
• sensory: Wernicke’s area close to regions of the brain responsible for auditory and visual input
• there is a neural loop known as the ARCUATE FASICULUS running between Broca’s and Wernicke’s area

Question 21

Strengths of localisation of function

Answer 21

• brain scan evidence
• case study evidence
• support from aphasia studies

Question 22

Brain scan evidence AO3 localisation of function

Answer 22

Peterson et al used brain scans to show how Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task. This suggests that language is localised to these two areas and this has high validity because it is backed up by objective scientific evidence.

Question 23

Case study evidence AO3 localisation of function

Answer 23

Phineas Gage suffered an accident where his frontal lobe was forced out of his brain by a pole. This caused a complete change of personality which suggests that our personality may be localised to the frontal lobe. Science has since shown that the frontal lobe governs mood.

Question 24

Support for aphasia studies AO3 localisation of function

Answer 24

• aphasia is the inability to produce or understand speech
• studies have shown that people who suffer damage to the Broca’s area suffer expressive aphasia
• studies have shown that people who suffer damage to the Wernicke’s area suffer receptive aphasia
• therefore supports brain localisation