CS Penfield Stidy Of The Interpretive Cortex Flashcards
What was the aim of penfields study of interpretive cortex
To investigate patients’ responses when their brain was electrically stimulated.
What was penfield´s methods in his study of interpretive cortex
Penfield operated on people to treat their severe epilepsy.
His technique meant that a conscious patient’s brain was exposed and areas could be electrically stimulated.
Patients could then report their thoughts and sensations.
What were the results of penfield´s interpretive cortex study
With temporal lobe stimulation, patients recalled experiences or recalled feelings associated with the experiences, including experiences of déjà vu.
The same memory was recalled each time the same area was stimulated.
What is the conclusion of penfield´s study of interpretive cortex
Suggests that memories of past experiences are stored in the temporal lobe.
An associated area stores the personal meaning of the experience. Penfield called this the interpretive cortex.
State a strength of penfeilds study of interpretive cortex
A strength is that Penfield used a very precise method of studying the brain.
He could stimulate the exact same area of the brain repeatedly and patients could report their experiences in a procedure called the Montreal which also treated patients with epilepsy.
This enabled him to produce an accurate ‘map’ of brain function.
State 2 weaknesses penfields study of interpretive cortex
A weakness is that the participants in the study made up an unusual sample.
The patients were suffering from severe epilepsy. Which could have changed the structure nd function of their brain in some way and in 1959 they did not have the technology to investigate normal brain and make comparisons.
This could mean that any results obtained were unusual and not reflective of people with non-epileptic brains.
A weakness is that Penfield’s later research did not always support his original findings.
In fact only 40 of the 520 patients he studied reported vivid experiences (dreams smells visual info etc) when their temporal lobe was stimulated and 24 out of the 40 had hallucinations related to epilepsy.
This suggests that the interpretive cortex does not always respond in the same way.
What research method did penfield used
Case study
