Lecture 14 - History of localised function

Question 1

When did people start firmly believing in the localisation of function until

Answer 1

1960s

Question 2

Localisation of function is the theory that

Answer 2

different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviors, processes or activities.If a certain area of the brain becomes damaged, the function associated with that area will also be affected.

Question 3

Rene Descartes

Answer 3

Rene Descartes was alive in the early 1600s. Famous philosopher. He came up with the idea that although there is a left part and right part of the brain, we see as a whole. He found the pineal gland, however he was wrong. For hundreds of years, humans did not like to hear that there could be a localisation of function

Question 4

Gall and Spurzheim

Answer 4

Gall and Spurzheim (early 1800s). Phrenology was the first attempt to localise an extreme case of localisation of function. The idea of phrenology is that if someone is extremely good at something, you would feel around the face until you find something. THe idea was that a part of the brain was so well developed that it would protrude onto the face. There is no argument that we do not have bumps or indentations on the skull, however it has no correlation to the brain. The reason scientists didn’t accept this was because they did not believe in the localisation of function. Idea of faculties

Question 5

Broca and Tan

Answer 5

Broca and parient Tan around in 1861. Tan could only say Tan. After Tan’s death, Broaca removed Tan’s brain and confirmed his hypothesis that Tan had sustained a massive lesion in the left frontal part of the brain

Question 6

Broca’s aphasa

Answer 6

Broca’s aphasia = language difficulties in the output of language, the motor aspects of speech

Question 7

Wernicke

Answer 7

Wernicke around in 1874 and challenged Broca’s theory. Wernicke’s patient did not have a lesion on the same part of the brain as Broca’s patient. They both had language problems, however they had different problems. Lesions were not in the same place therefore there is no localisation of function.

Question 8

Wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 8

Wernicke’s aphasia - no problem speaking, speech is fluid, but they can’t understand what you are saying

Question 9

Fritsch and Hitzig

Answer 9

Fritsch and Hitzig were around in 1870. They found the motor cortex. They found that if you stimulated the left motor cortex with electricity then there was movement on the right side of the body. They also found that the brain was an electrical structure. Localised a certain movement to a certain strip of tissue from the brain

Question 10

Current views on the localisation of function

Answer 10

Current views … almost 1/2 of the brain is dedicated to vision and this is called a flat map which allows you to see all the area, tremendous localisation of function in the brain