Biopsychology: Localisation of Function in the Brain

Question 1

What is localisation of function?

Answer 1

Specific brain areas are specialised for certain functions

Question 2

What is holistic theory?

Answer 2

All parts of the brain work together when processing information

Question 3

What is the role of Broca’s area?

Answer 3

Production of spoken and written language

Question 4

What can damage to Broca’s area lead to?

Answer 4

Broca’s aphasia - A person Amy show slow speech or speech lacking in fluency or absence of speech

Question 5

Where is Broca’s area?

Answer 5

Left hemisphere

Question 6

What is the role of the motor cortex?

Answer 6

Creation of voluntary movements

Question 7

What does damage to the motor cortex lead to?

Answer 7

Loss of control over fine movements, small movements on the opposite side of the body

Question 8

What is the role of the somatosensory cortex?

Answer 8

Processes information from the senses in the skin. This includes touch, pressure pain and temperature.

Question 9

What does damage to the somatosensory cortex lead to?

Answer 9

Difficulty in perceiving touch, failure to recognise object by touch

Question 10

What is the role of the visual cortex?

Answer 10

Receives information directly from the eyes. Processes information such as colour and shape.

Question 11

Damage to the visual cortex can lead to ,,.

Answer 11

Blindness, hallucination or inability to see colour or motion

Question 12

What is the role of Wernicke’s area?

Answer 12

Involved in the understanding of language

Question 13

What can damage to Wernicke’s area lead to?

Answer 13

Wernicke’s aphasia - cannot understand spoken language or produces nonsense words as part of speech.

Question 14

What is the role of the auditory cortex?

Answer 14

Analyses speech based information e.g. hearing and pitch

Question 15

What can damage to the auditory cortex lead to?

Answer 15

Partial hearing loss through to full hearing loss

Question 16

In Broca’s research, what one word could the patient say?

Answer 16

Tan

Question 17

What did Broca’s research show?

Answer 17

Language production is localised to one specific brain area

Question 18

Which hemisphere did EB have removed?

Answer 18

Left hemisphere

Question 19

What did EB manage to regain despite the loss of the left hemisphere?

Answer 19

Some of his language ability

Question 20

What is the problem with the use of case study?

Answer 20

Lacks population validity
Hard to generalise findings

Question 21

What has research found that contradicts that language is solely in the left hemisphere?

Answer 21

It may not always be in the left hemisphere. It may be in the dominant hemisphere

Question 22

What did Lashley find to contradict localisation of function?

Answer 22

No area of the brain was more important than any other in terms of rats learning’s a maze

Question 23

What do Lashley and EB provide support for?

Answer 23

Holistic Theory