Localisation of Function Flashcards
What is the motor cortex responsible for?
Generation of voluntary motor movements
Where is the motor cortex located?
Frontal lobe
- Precentral gyrus
What does the somatosensory cortex detect?
Sensory events arising from different regions of the body
Where is the somatosensory cortex located?
Parietal lobe
What is the postcentral gyrus dedicated to?
The processing of sensory information related to touch
Where is the primary visual centre located in the brain?
Visual cortex in the occipital lobe
How does the somatosensory cortex produce sensations?
sensory information from the skin
What sensations do the somatosensory cortex produce?
- Touch
- Pressure
- Pain
- Temperature
Where does visual processing actually begin?
The retina
- Light enters and strikes the photoreceptors
- Nerve impulses from the retina are then transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve
Where might some of the nerve impulses from the retina travel to?
Areas of the brain involved in the coordination of circadian rhythms
Where do the rest of the impulses terminate?
Thalamus
What does the thalamus act as?
A relay station passing information on the visual cortex
What is the auditiry centre in the brain concerned with?
Hearing
Where does most of the auditory centre lie?
The temporal lobes
Where do auditory pathways begin?
Cochlea ( inner ear)
What are sound waves then converted into?
Nerve impulses
Where do the converted nerve impulses then travel to?
Auditory cortex
Via the auditory nerve
What is the role of the brain stem is the jorney from the cochlea to the brain?
Decodes
For example: The duration and intensity of a sound
Who is Broca’s area named after?
Paul Broca
A french neurosurgeon
What was Broca’s patient refered as?
‘Tan’
What was ‘Tan’s’ disorder?
He was able to understand spoken language
BUT unable to speak or express his thoughts in writing
How many other patients did Broca study?
Eight
What did Broca’s patients all have in common?
Language deficits
Lesions in their left frontal hemisphere
Which patients didn’t have the same language problems?
Patients with damage to these areas in the right hemisphere
What did Broca learn from his studies?
The existence of a language centre
In the posterior portions of the frontal lobe of a left hemisphere
What have other neuroscientists found evidence of in Broca’s area?
Performance of cognitive tasks
What did Fedorenko et al. (2012) discover?
Two regions of Broca’s area:
- One selectively involved in language
- The other involved in responding to many demanding cognitive tasks
> Eg Maths problems
What did Carl Wernicke discover?
Another area of the brain responsible for understanding language
What was the area Carl Wernicke discovered named?
Wernicke’s area
Where is Wernicke’s area?
Posterior portion of the left temporal lobe
What was wrong with Wernicke’s patients?
They could speak but couldn’t understand language
What did Wernicke propose about language?
Language involves separate motor and sensory regions located in different cortical regions
