Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards
Mind-body problem
A person is capable of being conscious and rational only because of having a mind, but how can a non material mind produce movements in a material body?
Rene Descartes
Described a relation between the mind and the brain
Dualism
The position that mind and body are separate but can interact
Monism
Monists avoid the mind-body problem by postulating that the mind and body are simply a unitary whole
Materialism
The idea that rational behavior can be fully explained by the working of the NS without any need to refer to a nonmaterial mind
Franz Josef Gall and Johann Casper Spurzheim
- developed the idea that different parts of the brain have different functions
- proposed that the cortex and it’s gyri were functioning parts of the brain and not just coverings for the pineal body
- proposed that the cortex produces behavior thru the control of other parts of the brain and spinal cord thru the corticospinal tract
Phrenology
- study of the relation b/w the skull’s surface features and a person’s faculties
- this map shows the relation b/w brain functions and the skull surface
- criticisms:
- characteristics such as faith,
self-love, and veneration are
impossible to define and quantify
objectively - phrenologists also failed to
recognize that the superficial
features of the skull reveal little
about the underlying brain
- characteristics such as faith,
Cranioscopy
A method in which a device was placed around the skull to measure the bumps and depressions there
Localization of function
A general theory developed by Gall to show how the brain might produce differences in individual abilities
Localizationalists
People who believed that functions of the body could be localized to a side of the brain
Aphasia
Defect or loss of the power of expression by speech, writing, or signs or of comprehending spoken or written language due to injury or disease of the brain
Alexia
Loss of the ability to read
Apraxia
An inability to make sequences of movements
Paul Broca
- located speech in the third convolution (gyrus) of the frontal lobe on the left side of the brain
- demonstrated that language is localized
- experimented on Tan
Broca’s area
The anterior speech region of the brain
Broca’s aphasia
The syndrome that results from the damage to the anterior speech region of the brain
Tan
- had paralysis on right side of brain
- could only say the word “tan” and utter an oath
- had a lesion on his left frontal lobe
Carl Wernicke
- the first notable scientist to dissent Broca’s findings
- suspected a relation b/w the functioning of hearing and that of speech
Wernicke’s area
The region of the temporal lobe associated with this form of aphasia
Wernicke’s aphasia
AKA: temporal-lobe aphasia or fluent aphasia
Arcuate fasciculus
- a pathway in which auditory ideas can be sent from Wernicke’s area
- leads to Broca’s area, where the representations of speech movements are stored
Conduction aphasia
A speech deficit in which, if arcuate fibers connecting the two speech areas were cut, disconnecting the areas but without inflicting damage on either one
Norman Geschwind
Confirmed and updated Wernicke’s speech model
Disconnection
Predicts that complex behaviors are built up in assembly-line fashion as information collected by sensory systems enters the brain and travels thru different structures before resulting in an overt response