Localisation of brain functions Flashcards
what is localisation of brain functions?
refers to the believe that specific areas of the brain are associated with different cognitive functions
what is the role of the motor cortex?
it is responsible for the generation of voluntary movement
it is located in the frontal lobe of the brain along the precentral gyrus
Both hemispheres of the brain have a motor cortex
The motor cortex on one side of the brain controlling the muscles on the opposite sides of the body
These regions are located logically next to another (e.g region that controls the foot is next to the region that controls the leg)
What is the somatosensory cortex?
it is parallel to the motor cortex on the other side of the central sulcus
It is located in the parietal lobe of the brain along the postcentral gyrus
It is responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature, and pain.
The sensory information is then carried to the brain via neural pathways to the spinal cord, brain stem and thalamus.
what is the Broce’s area?(Paul Broce)
It is linked to language output
it is located in the posterior portion of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere
What is Wernicke’s area?
it is a language centre associated with language input
it is in the posterior of the left temporal lobe.
what are visual centres?
the primary visual centre is located in the visual cortex in the occipital lobe of the brain
Visual processing begins in the retina - the back of the eye where light enters and strikes the photoreceptors (rodes and cones)
Nerve impulses from the retina are transmitted via optic nerve and terminate in the thalamus which acts as a relay station passing information to the visual cortex
The visual cortex is in both hemispheres with the right hemisphere receiving its input from the left hand side of the visual field while the visual cortex in the left hemisphere receives its input in the right hand side of the visual field
what are auditory centres?
it is concerned with hearing which lies mostly in the temporal lobes in both sides of the brain where we find the auditory cortex
The auditory pathways begin in the cochlea in the inner ear where sound waves are converted to nerve impulses which travel via the auditory nerve to the auditory cortex in the brain
On the journey from the cochlea to the brain the first stop is the brain stem where basic decoding takes place for example the duration and intensity of sound the next stop is the thalamus which acts as a relay station carrying out further processing of the auditory stimulus.
The last stop is the auditory cortex
