Brain lateralisation Flashcards
What is the idea of brain lateralisation?
the two halves of the brain aren’t alike and each has specialisations
What has research shown the left hemisphere is dominant for?
language
What has research shown the right hemisphere is dominant for?
visual motor tasks and spatial relationships
How is the brain contralateral?
The parts of the left hemisphere deal with the right side of the body and the right hemisphere does the same for the left side
How is taste and smell contralateral
Taste from your left side of your tongue and smells from your left nostril are processed in the right hemisphere
when is a function lateralised?
if a function is dealt with by one hemisphere
corpus callosum
a broad band of nerve fibres joining the two hemispheres of the brain.
Narumoto et al (2001)
Right hemisphere more dominant for recognising emotion in others
Studies show if half a face is smiling and the other half is normal then the left hand side is the emotion recognised
Clarke et al (1993)
right hemisphere dominant for spatial relationships, supported by case study of women with damaged right hemisphere who would get lost in familiar situations unless given verbal instructions
What are the advantages of lateralisation?
+ Helps us understand the specific functions on the sides of the brain and about multi tasking, Rogers et al (2004)
+ We can study left handedness and why they are prone to allergies and immune system issues. Tonnessen et al (1993)
Rogers et al (2004)
In domestic chickens brain lateralisation is associated with an enhanced ability to perform two tasks simultaneously (food and vigilance), provides evidence that brain lateralisation enhances efficiency
Tonnessen et al (1993)
Small but significant relationship between handedness and immune disorder suggesting a link between lateralisation and the development of the immune system supporting the idea of brain lateralisation
What are the weaknesses of brain lateralisation?
- Changes with age and is not set in stone, Szaflarski et al (2006)
- Does not explain brain plasticity since studies show having one hemisphere damaged doesn’t mean they will have an abnormal brain
Szaflarski et al (2006)
Found that language becomes more lateralised as ppts age increased to 25, then decreased steadily in older ones. This suggests that we should be cautious in assuming that brain lateralisation is set in stone throughout life as research has suggested that lateralisation is only relevant until a certain age.
What did Szaflarski et al’s (2006) study suggest?
This suggests that we should be cautious in assuming that brain lateralisation is set in stone throughout life as research has suggested that lateralisation is only relevant until a certain age.
