Localisation and Lateralisation Flashcards
what is localisation of function
the principle that specific abilities/functions are within/have specific areas in the brain
where are the motor areas found
in the motor cortex
where is the motor cortex
in the frontal lobe along the precentral gyrus
what does the motor area control
voluntary movements, with different parts of it controlling different parts of the body
where are the somatosensory areas found
in the somatosensory cortex
where is the somatosensory cortex
in the parietal lobe along the postcentral gyrus
what does the somatosensory area do
uses sensory information from the skin to produce sensations of touch, pressure, pain and temperature which it then localises to specific body areas
where are the visual areas found
in the visual cortex
where is the visual cortex
in the occipital lobe
what does the visual area do
information from the retina is transmitted along the optic nerve to the brain via the thalamus where visual information is produced
where are the auditory areas found
in the auditory cortex
where is the auditory cortex
in the temporal lobe
what does the auditory area do
processes auditory information, recognising it to result in an appropriate response
what does the auditory area work
sound waves are converted to nerve impulses in the cochlea (inner ear) which travels via the auditory nerve to the auditory cortex via the brain stem and the thalamus
what happens along the brain stem
decoding takes place
what happens in the thalamus, referring to the auditory area
it acts like a relay station and carries out further processing of the auditory stimulus
where are the language centres found
left side of the brain
where is Broca’s area found
posterior of the left frontal lobe
what was Broca’s experiment
he had patients with damage to the posterior of the left frontal lobe who couldn’t speak but understood language, he concluded this area is for speech production
where is Wernicke’s area found
posterior of the left temporal lobe
what did Wernicke do
he believed language requires seperate motor and sensory regions, discovering the posterior of the left temporal lobe was responsible for understanding language
what connects Broca’s and Wernicke’s area
a neural loop
what is hemispheric lateralisation
the fact that the two halves of the human brain are not alike, each hemisphere has functional specialisations
what is the left hemisphere dominant for
language and speech
what is the right hemisphere dominant for
visual-motor tasks
humans are contralateral, what does this mean
the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body
what areas does being contralateral apply to
visual, smell, hearing, taste and motor areas
what connects the two hemispheres of the brain
the corpus callosum
