Localisation of Function

Question 1

What is localisation of function?

Answer 1

Different functions are performed in distinct regions of the brain

Question 2

Broca’s area

Answer 2

Located in left posterior frontal lobe controlling speech production. Damage leads to Broca’s aphasia (slow, lacks fluency)

Question 3

Wernicke’s area

Answer 3

Located in left posterior temporal lobe controlling language comprehension. Damage leads to Wernicke’s aphasia (word salad)

Question 4

Frontal lobe

Answer 4

Contains motor cortex which controls voluntary movement by sending signals to muscles on opposite side of body (contralateral control)

Question 5

Parietal lobe

Answer 5

Contains somatosensory cortex which receives sensory information from skin

Question 6

Temporal lobe

Answer 6

Contains auditory cortex which analyses and processes auditory information

Question 7

Occipital lobe

Answer 7

Contains visual cortex which receives and processes visual information

Question 8

Strengths of localisation

Answer 8

• Brain scan evidence (eg. Petersen showed Broca’s area during reading task and Wernicke’s area active during listening task)
• Case study evidence (eg. HM no longer recall episodic and semantic LTM but cold form new procedural LTM)

Question 9

Limitations of localisation

Answer 9

• Biologically reductionist (eg. Lashley removed 10-50% of rats cortex and found no area to be more important, just the amount)
• Individual differences (eg. Harasty found women have larger Broca’s and Wernicke’s area, introducing beta bias)