LOCALISATION OF FUNCTION

Question 1

Define Localisation of function

Answer 1

means that different areas of the brain are associated with particular physical and psychological functions.

Question 2

state left brain functions

Answer 2

• analytic thought, logic, language, science and maths.

Question 3

state right brain functions

Answer 3

• holistic thought, intuition, creativity, art and music.

Question 4

The human brain is made up of three concentric layers (define them)

Answer 4

• The central core
• The limbic system
• the cerebrum or cortex

Question 5

What’s the function of The central core

Answer 5

which regulates our most primitive and involuntary behaviours.

Question 6

The limbic system

Answer 6

controls our emotions

Question 7

the cerebrum or cortex

Answer 7

which regulates our higher mental processes

Question 8

Name the 4 Different functions are located in different areas of the cerebrum

Answer 8

• The frontal lobe
• The occipital lobe
• The temporal lobe
• The Parietal lobe

Question 9

The frontal lobe (motor area)

Answer 9

is the location of our awareness or consciousness.

Question 10

The occipital lobe (visual area)

Answer 10

is where vision is located

Question 11

The temporal lobe (audiotry area)

Answer 11

The temporal lobe is the location of auditory processing and memory

Question 12

The Parietal lobe (somatosensory area)

Answer 12

• is the location for sensory and motor movements. somatosensory area which responds to heat, touch, pain etc.

Question 13

Localisation of language

Answer 13

• Brocas area
• Wrenickles area

Question 14

What’s the function of the Broca’s area

Answer 14

• to the left of the frontal lobe, governs speech production. Damage to Broca’s area causes speech to be slow and laborious.
• thinking of what verbs go in a phrase uses Broca’s area.
• brocas aphasia

Question 15

What’s the function of Wernicke’s area

Answer 15

• in the left temporal lobe governs the understanding of speech. Damage to this area causes comprehension problems and the person’s speech is fluent but meaningless.
• listening to nouns involves Wernicke’s area
• wernickes aphasia

Question 16

one strength of localisation of function is that theres research evidence

Answer 16

• neurosurgery is used to treat mental disorders e.g cingulotomy involces isolating od the
• cingulate gyrus fysfunction of this area causes OCD
• dougherty et al studied 44 people with OCD who had a cingulotomy at a follow up - 30% met the criteria for sucessful response and 14% partical response
• suggests disorders may be localised

Question 17

brain scans support localisation of function

Answer 17

• petersen et al used brain scans to show activity in wernickles area during a listening task and in Brocas area during a reading task
• also a study by tulving et al revealed that sematic and episodic memories are localised in different parts of the prefrontal cortex
• numbers of ways to measure brain activity providing evidence of localisation

Question 18

counterpoint brain scans

Answer 18

• lashely removed areas of the cortex up to 50% in rats learning the route through a maze.
• learning requires all the cortex rather than being confined to particular area
• suggests higher cognitive processes are not localised but distributed in a more hollistic way in the brain

Question 19

language localisation has been questioned

Answer 19

• dick and tremblay found that very few researches still believe language is only in brocas and wernickles area.
• advanced tech FMRIs have identified reigons in the right hemisphere and the thalamus
• this suggests that rather than being confined to a couple of key areas, language may be organised more hollistically in the brain, contradicts localisation theory.