L13- Localisation of Function Flashcards
What are the learning objectives regarding the localization of function in the brain?
Understand the history of the debate over localization of function in the brain
* Know about the key players in the debate
What did Rene Descartes contribute to the understanding of brain function?
Descartes recognized the brain’s symmetry and searched for a unifying structure, identifying the pineal gland as a possible candidate.
What is phrenology and who developed it?
Phrenology is a pseudoscience developed by Gall and Spurzheim in the early 1800s, which associated bumps and depressions on the skull with well-developed and under-developed behaviors.
Who was Paul Broca and what is Broca’s area?
Paul Broca was a physician who identified Broca’s area in the left frontal lobe, which is involved in language production. His patient “Tan” could only say “Tan” due to a lesion in this area, leading to Broca’s aphasia.
Why was phrenology eventually discredited?
Phrenology was discredited because bumps on the skull do not map onto the brain, and the idea was not widely accepted that there is localization of function in the brain.
What is Broca’s aphasia?
Broca’s aphasia is a language disorder characterized by difficulty with language output while comprehension remains intact.
Who was Karl Wernicke and what is Wernicke’s area?
Karl Wernicke identified a region in the left temporal lobe (Wernicke’s area) involved in language comprehension. Damage to this area results in Wernicke’s aphasia.
What is Wernicke’s aphasia?
Wernicke’s aphasia is a language disorder characterized by normal language output but impaired comprehension.
What did Fritsch and Hitzig discover in 1870?
They discovered that stimulation of a strip of cortex (motor cortex) caused contralateral movement of body parts, suggesting localization of function and that the brain is an electrical structure.
What is the current view on localization of function in the brain?
The brain is considered modular, with each sensory module having further detailed localization of function.
What is a double dissociation in the context of Broca’s and Wernicke’s findings?
A double dissociation occurs when two related mental processes are shown to function independently of each other. In this case, Broca’s aphasia (language production) and Wernicke’s aphasia (language comprehension) demonstrate independent brain areas responsible for different aspects of language.
