Chapter 13 - Quiz 5 Flashcards
13.1 The left and right hemispheres
Discuss which hemisphere deals with skin receptors, peripheral muscles, trunk muscles, and facial muscles as well as visual, auditory info, taste and smell.
-say which is contralateral and which isn’t and which is both
Contralateral:
-skin receptors
-peripheral muscles
-visual info
Both:
-trunk muscles
-facial muscles
-auditory (but slightly stronger for contralateral ear)
-taste
Uncrossed:
-smell
13.1 The left and right hemispheres
What is lateralization?
-division of labour between the two hemispheres
13.1 The left and right hemispheres
How do the left and right hemispheres exchange information? (3)
-corpus callosum (axons connecting sides)
-anterior commissure
-hippocampal commissure
13.1: Anatomical differences between the hemispheres
What brain part is larger in the left hemisphere for 65% of people? Showing difference even in infants?
-planum temporale
-many primates also show a preference for using either their right or left hand as most humans do
13.1 Visual and Auditory Connections to the hemispheres
Light from the right half of the visual field (what is visible at any moment) strikes which side of each retina and connects to which hemisphere? (2)
-strikes the left half of each retina
-which connnects to the left hemisphere
-vice versa for right
-small vertical strip down the center of each retina, covering about 5 degrees of visual arc connect to both hemispheres
13.1 Visual and Auditory Connections to the hemispheres
Each ear sends the information to which side of the brain? Do the hemispheres pay attention more to one ear? (2)
-they send information to both sides of the brain
-however, each hemisphere pays more attention to the ear on the opposite side
13.1 The Corpus Callosum and the Split-Brain operation
What are split-brained people? What do they struggle to do?
-people who do not have a corpus callosum
-they can do most things normally but struggle to use the hands together on tasks that they have not previously practiced
13.1 The Corpus Callosum and the Split-Brain operation
Can a split-brain person name an object after feeling it with the right hand? With the left hand? Explain.
-A split-brain person can describe something after feeling it with the right hand but not with the left. The right hand sends its information to the left hemisphere, which is dominant for language in most people. The left hand sends its information to the right hemisphere, which cannot speak.
13.1
What are the main functions of the left hemisphere? How about the right? (2)
Left:
-language/speech, logical thinking, math
Right:
-spatial relationships, creativity and art, intuition, non-verbal communication (emotional stimuli)
-chatgpt
13.1: Split Hemispheres: Competition and Cooperation
Describe how split-brain people experience competition and cooperation.
-right after the person has a split-brain, they struggle with competition between the two sides and a lack of coordination doing things
13.1: Split Hemispheres: Competition and Cooperation
What is the concept of the interpreter?
-the tendency of the left hemisphere to invent and defend explanations for actions, even when the true causes are unconscious
-shown both in split-brain people and not
13.1: Evolution of Language
How does human language stand out from other forms of communication? Define the term (2)
-it stands out because of its productivity
-its ability to improvise new combinations of signals to represent new ideas
13.1: Bonobos
What are three likely explanations for why bonobos made more language progress than common chimpanzees? (3)
-Bonobos may be more predisposed to language than common chimpanzees.
-The bonobos started training at an earlier age.
-They learned by imitation instead of formal training techniques.
13.1: How did humans evolve language?
What two things may language have evolved from that are seen in primates and other animals?
-gesturing
-mouth gestures
13.1: Is language a by-product of intelligence?
What is Williams syndrome and how does it show that overall intellectual impairment does not mean someone has poor language skills? (2)
-it is a condition traceable to the loss of a gene that influences connections in the brain
-they struggle in many basic regards and often have to be supervised but speak grammatically well and fluently
13.1: Language as a specialization
What did Chomsky and Pinker propose that humans have and what is it? (2)
-language acquisiiton device
-built in mechanism for acquiring language
13.1: A sensitive period for language learning
What is the strongest evidence in favor of a sensitive period for language learning?
Deaf children who did not learn either spoken language or sign language while young do not become proficient at either type of language later.
13.1: Broca’s Aphasia (Nonfluent aphasia)
What is aphasia? What is Broca’s aphasia or nonfluent aphasia? (2)
-aphasia is language impairment
-Broca’s aphasia or nonfluent aphasia is when brain damage impaires language production, regardless of the exact location of damage
13.1: Broca’s Aphasia (Nonfluent aphasia)
What is Broca’s area? What have modern methods confirmed and changed about it? (2)
-damage in the left frontal cortex that impairs language
-they have confirmed the importance of Broca’s area for language production, but damage limited ot that area produces only minor or brief language impairment
-Broca’s aphasia relates to damage in parts of the cortex, thalamus and basal ganglia
13.1: Impaired language production
Describe what Broca’s aphasia looks like with symptoms?
-they are slow and awkward with all forms of language communication including speaking, writing, gesturing and using sign language
-Broca’s area helps to organize speech but it doesn’t produce it
13.1: Problems in comprehending grammatical words and devices
What kind of words are Broca’s patients least likely to use?
-They have the greatest trouble with “closed-class” words that are meaningful only in the context of a sentence, such as prepositions, conjunctions, and helping verbs.
-under, above
-because, but
-is
*-They have the most trouble understanding the same kind of words they have trouble producing—the closed-class words.