Biopsychology: topic 6 ‘hemispheric lateralisation’ Flashcards
what is hemispheric lateralisation?
- the idea that the two hemispheres of the brain are functionally different and control certain mental processes and behaviours
what connects the two hemispheres of the brain?
- the corpus callosum
- it is a bundle of fibres that serves as a communication pathway between the hemispheres
how does the brain exhibit contralateral organisation?
- parts of the left hemisphere control the right side of the body and vice versa
- for example, what you see in your right visual field is processed by your left hemisphere
what happens if a person has a stroke in the motor areas of their right hemisphere?
- the left side of the body is affected
which hemisphere is primarily responsible for language processing and logic in most people?
- the left hemisphere
- this includes areas such as Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area
what is Broca’s area associated with?
- language processing
- damage to the left hemisphere can affect speech
what is Wernicke’s area associated with?
- language comprehension
- it is typically located in the left hemisphere
which hemisphere is dominant for emotion, creativity and art?
- the right hemisphere
- it processes the left visual field, which is important for emotional recognition
what has research shown with a photo split with one half smiling and the other neutral demonstrate?
- the emotion displayed on the left side is recognised because it is processed by the right hemisphere
- this illustrates the right hemisphere’s dominance in emotional recognition
what does a case study of a woman with right hemisphere damage suggest?
- the right hemisphere deals with spatial information
- the woman often got lost in familiar situations, indicating impaired spatial information
fill in the blank: hemispheric lateralisation refers to each hemisphere being responsible for different _______
- behaviours, processes or activities
what happens if you ask somebody to look at a picture and identify a small detail compared to looking at the picture holistically? what does this suggest?
- small detail: greater level of activity in the left hemisphere
- holistically: more activity in the right hemisphere
- suggests that the left hemisphere focuses on detail and the right hemisphere focuses on overall patterns
what are the 6 functions of the left hemisphere?
- language processing
- broca’s speech
- wernicke’s = understanding speech
- details
- reasoning and number skills
- right side of body
what are the 6 functions of the left hemisphere?
- emotion
- art
- imagination
- music
- spatial relationships
- holistic processing
- left side of body
