biopsychology - localisation of function Flashcards
what is holistic theory?
areas of the brain interact so the control of a behaviour can’t be attributed to a specific brain region
what is localisation theory?
challenges holistic theory
specific regions of the brain control specific behaviours
what did Paul Broca discover?
his patients could understand language but struggled to speak and write fluently (Broca’s aphasia)
all had brain damage in the same area - Broca’s area
- linked to speech production
what did Karl Wernicke discover?
patients could speak fluently but their meaning was unclear (Wernicke’s aphasia)
all had damage to the same area - Wernicke’s area
- linked to meaning of language
how do researchers find out about brain function?
behavioural observation and autopsy
what is lateralisation?
some of our physical and psychological functions are controlled or dominated by a particular hemisphere
the motor area
back of the frontal lobe
controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body
damage to this area may result in a loss of control over fine movements
the somatosensory area
located in the parietal lobe
separated from the motor area by the central sulcus
where sensory information from the skin is represented
the occipital lobe
the visual area
each eye sends information from the right visual field to the left visual cortex and vice versa
the temporal lobe
the auditory area, which analyses speech-based information
strength - Phineas Gage
case study - Phineas Gage suffered damage to PFC which resulted in impaired social skills
supports localisation theory, suggesting PFC is responsible for social behaviour and personality, thus challenging holistic theory
counterpoint - use of case study evidence (low external validity)
strength - evidence from brain scans
Petersen et al (1988) - Wernicke’s area active during listening task and Broca’s area active during a reading task
Buckner and Petersen - semantic and episodic memories reside in different areas of PFC
limitation - language localisation challenged
only 2% of modern researchers think language in the brain is completely controlled by Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (Dick and Tremblay, 2016)
fMRIs have found ‘language streams’ - language functions distributed more holistically
