Localisation of Function

Question 1

Who proposed Localisation of Function?

Answer 1

Broca & Wernicke

Question 2

What is Localisation of Function?

Answer 2

The idea that specific areas of the brain are responsible for specific functions

Question 3

Where is Broca’s Area?

Answer 3

In the left frontal lobe

Question 4

Where is Wernicke’s Area?

Answer 4

The left temporal lobe

Question 5

Describe Broca’s Area

Answer 5

An area responsible for language production

Question 6

Describe Wernicke’s Area

Answer 6

An area responsible for language understanding

Question 7

Besides Broca & Wernicke’s Areas, what are 4 other localised areas of the brain?

Answer 7

• Somatosensory area
• Motor area
• Visual area
• Auditory area

Question 8

What does damage to Wernicke’s Area result in?

Answer 8

Fluent but meaningless speech and the production of nonsense words (neologisms)

Question 9

What does damage to Broca’s Area result in?

Answer 9

Slow, laborious speech that lacks fluency

Question 10

Describe a case study regarding damage to Broca’s Area

Answer 10

Tan, who was a patient of Broca’s who could only repeat the word “Tan”

Question 11

What is the function of the Motor Area?

Answer 11

To control voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body

Question 12

Where is the Motor Area located?

Answer 12

Frontal lobe

Question 13

Where is the Somatosensory Area located?

Answer 13

Parietal lobe

Question 14

Where is the Visual Area located?

Answer 14

Occipital lobe

Question 15

What are the 2 language centres in the brain?

Answer 15

• Broca’s Area
• Wernicke’s Area

Question 16

Where is the Auditory Area located?

Answer 16

Temporal lobe

Question 17

What is the function of the Somatosensory Area?

Answer 17

To represent sensory information from the skin, such as heat and touch

Question 18

What is the function of the Visual Area?

Answer 18

To process visual information from the visual field on the opposite side of the body

Question 19

What is the function of the Auditory Area?

Answer 19

To analyse speech-based information

Question 20

What may damage to the Motor Area result in?

Answer 20

A loss of control over movement or paralysis in the opposite side of the body to the side where the damage was obtained

Question 21

What may damage to the Somatosensory Area result in? (2 Points)

Answer 21

• Difficulty processing sensory information
• Numbness or a tingling or prickling sensation in certain parts of the body

Question 22

What may damage to the Visual Area result in?

Answer 22

Blindness in the visual side on the opposite side of the body to the side where the damage was obtained

Question 23

What may damage to the Auditory Area result in?

Answer 23

Partial hearing loss

Question 24

What evidence suggests a distinction between Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area?

Answer 24

Peterson, who used brain scans to demonstrate how Broca’s Area was active during a reading task (language production) whilst Wernicke’s Area was active during a listening task (language understanding)

Question 25

What evidence is there to suggest the localisation of LTM stores?

Answer 25

Tulving, who used PET scans to demonstrate how semantic memories are recalled from the left prefrontal cortex whilst episodic memories are recalled from the right prefrontal cortex

Question 26

What evidence contradicts the idea of Localisation of Function?

Answer 26

• Lashley, who removed varying areas of the cortex in the brains of rats learning a maze route
• He concluded that no one area was more crucial than any other in terms of the rats ability to learn the maze route
• This suggests that higher complex functions aren’t localised, but distributed holistically

Question 27

What did Lashley propose in regards of Localisation of Function?

Answer 27

Equipotentiality Theory, which is the idea that basic motor and sensory functions are localised, but higher mental functions are not

Question 28

Why is evidence supporting Localisation of Function considered high quality?

Answer 28

It utilises objective, scientific methods, such as neuroimaging

Question 29

What case study evidence is there for Localisation of Function?

Answer 29

• Phineas Gage, who was pierced by an iron rod that passed through his left cheek and much of his left frontal lobe
• Although he survived, following the incident Gage was described as having undergone a personality change, becoming impatient, rude and short-tempered, to the extent that he was no longer offered work by the railroad company he worked for
• This suggests the mood regulation is localised in the left frontal lobe

Question 30

Why has the case of study of Phineas Gage been criticised?

Answer 30

• Difficulty generalising case studies, especially one of such bizarre circumstances, to the wider population
• There’s limited reports of his personality and behaviour before his accident, with most research conducted relying on the accounts and opinions of other people rather than objective, scientific analysis

Question 31

What evidence contradicts the idea of Localisation of Function?

Answer 31

• Functional Recovery, which demonstrates how the brain can adapt and recover from trauma sustained through injury, allowing specific localised functions to still be carried out (e.g. Danelli et al case study)
• This suggests a less rigid and more holistic regard of localisation of function needs to be adopted