Chapter 14 Flashcards
Lateralization
Division of labor between 2 hemispheres
connected to skin receptors and muscles mainly on right side of body
left hemisphere of cerebral cortex
specialized for language
left hemisphere
each hemisphere gets info from both ears, but slightly stronger info from contralateral ear than from ipsilateral ear
auditory info
each hemisphere gets taste info from its own side of the tongue and smell info from the nostril on its own side (ipsilateral connections)
taste & smell are uncrossed
set of axons thru which left & right hemispheres exchange info
corpus callosum
2 hemispheres aren’t mirror aren’t mirror images of each other
labor is divided to some extent
what is visible at any moment
visual field
left half of each reina connects to left hemisphere
sees right visual field
right half of each retina connects to right hemisphere
sees left visual field
junction in brain where these axons cross
optic chiasm
auditory system; each ear sends info to both sides of brain
organized differently
damage to corpus callosum
prevents the 2 hemispheres from exchanging info
block sodium flow across the membrane or enhance effects of GABA
antiepileptic drugs
ppl who have undergone surgery to corpus callosum
split-brain ppl
Roger Sperry’s studies
split-brain person stares straight ahead at screen- experimenter flashes words or pics on either side of the screen
revealed subtle behavioral differences for split brain ppl; b/c the left side of the brain is dominant for language in most ppl…
roger sperry
show split brain person object in left visual field
usually can’t name or describe it
advantage in having just one hemisphere control speech?
yes; some ppl have languages in both hemispheres- they end up stuttering thou; only one hemisphere means no competition
prevents it from interfering w/right hemisphere
damage to left hemisphere
ppl w/damage in parts of right hemisphere
speak in monotone voice; don’t understand other ppl’s emotional expression; usually fail to understand humor and sarcasm
dominant for recognizing emotions in others
right hemisphere
better at comprehending spatial relationships
right hemisphere
focus more on visual details
left hemisphere
right hemisphere does better than the left at recognizing whether two photographs show same or different emotions
split-brain person
larger in the left hemisphere for 65% of ppl
planum temporale
connects anterior parts of cerebral cortex
anterior commissure
connects left & right hippocampi
hippocampal commissure
the ability to produce new signals to represent new ideas
productivity
major spokesperson for psy; psy linguist by nature
Steven Pinker
Language is crown jewel of cognition
Steven Pinker
Is the use of symbols really language?
Chimps seldom used language in new, original combinations;Chimps used their symbols mainly to request, seldom to describe; Did show indications of at least moderate understanding
Irene Pepperberg and Alex
(African Gray Parrot)- 1st to argue that parrots can use sounds meaningfully
Simplest View:
language developed as accidental by-product of intelligence
• First problem with this view:
Not all people with full-sized sized brains have normal language
second problem
Williams syndrome
caused by deletion of several genes from chromosome 7
williams syndrome
williams syndrome
- Many people with syndrome speak grammatically and fluently
- Are poor at tasks related to numbers, visuospatial skills, and spatial perception
Proposed that humans have a language acquisition device
chomsky and pinker
most researchers agree-
humans have specially evolved something that enables them to learn language easily
Language impairment
aphasia
Tan was the name of this patient b/c it was the only word he would/could say
Paul Broca
damage limited to broca’s area
produces only minor or brief language impairment
brain damage that results in impaired language production (regardless of exact location of damage)
Broca’s aphasia (nonfluent aphasia)
Found that damage in part of the left temporal cortex produced a different kind of langugage impairment
carl wenicke
results from damage in and around wernicke’s area
wernicke’s aphasia
aka fluent aphasia
wernicke’s aphasia
b/c the person can still speak smoothly
fluent aphasia
typical characteristics of wernicke’s aphasia
articulate speech; difficulty finding the right word; poor language comprehension
difficulty recalling the names of objects
anomia
- Specific impairment in reading in someone with adequate vision and adequate skills in other academic areas
dyslexia
linked to at least 4 genes that produce deficits in hearing or cogniton
dyslexia
have trouble sounding out words and try to remember each word as a whole
dysphonetic dyslexics
sound out words ok, but fail to recognize a word as a whole;
dyseidetic dyslexics
read slowly and have particular trouble w/irregularly spelled words
dyseidetic dyslexics
a brief visual stimulus preceded and followed by longer interfering stimuli
masking
just the later stimulus is presented
Backward masking
being conscious of a stimulus depends on the amount of brain activity – its information has taken over more of your brain’s activity
Implication
slow and gradual shifts in perception from one eye to the other
binocular rivalry
if you see a dot in one position, alternating with a similar dot nearby, it will seem to you that the dot is moving back and forth
the Phi Phenomenon
closely aligned w/consciousness
attention
If you observe a complex scene, and something in it changes slowly, or changes while you blink your eyes, there is a good chance you will not notice it
inattentional blindness
inattentional blindness aka….
change blindness
reaction to a stimulus
bottom up attention
Ex: a deer runs past you in the park, grabbing your attention
bottom up attention
intentional and controlled
top down attention
ex: stroop effect
top down attention
the finding that the ability to name an ink color in which a word is printed is inhibited if that word happens to name a conflicting color
stroop effect
a tendency for many people with damage to parts of the right hemisphere to ignore the left side of the body or the left side of objects
spatial neglect
often associated w/damage to the right hemisphere of the brain
spatial neglect
spatial neglect aka…
inattention
main problem w/neglect
is attention, not impaired sensation
Several procedures can increase attention to the neglected side
Simply tell person to pay attention to the neglected stimulus.
Have person look left while feeling an object with the left hand or hearing a sound from the left side of the world.
Have person cross one hand over the other in front of the body
