Localisation of function

Question 1

localisation of function

Answer 1

refers to the ideas that specific functions have specific locations in the brain

Question 2

motor cortex

Answer 2

• located in the frontal lobe
• generates voluntary motor movements
• regions arranged logically next to each other e.g. leg next to foot

Question 3

somatosensory cortex

Answer 3

• located in the parietal lobe
• receives sensory info from skin to produce sensation of pressure, pain and temperature localised to specific body regions
• Robertson (‘95) found this area highly adaptable e.g. larger in braille readers

Question 4

visual cortex

Answer 4

• located in the occipital lobe, back of brain
• receives and processes visual info
• light enters retina and strikes photoreceptors, impulse transmitted to brain via optic nerve

Question 5

auditory cortex

Answer 5

• located in the temporal lobe
• responsible for analysing and processing acoustic info
• pathway begins in cochlea and travels to brain via auditory nerve

Question 6

Broca’s area

Answer 6

• responsible for speech production
• found a lesion in the posterior frontal gyrus in a patient who could only say tan
• Broca’s aphasia: damage to this area resulting in slow, inarticulate speech

Question 7

Wernicke’s area

Answer 7

• located in the left temporal lobe
• involved in language processing and comprehension
• Wernicke’s aphasia: damage resulting in struggle to comprehend language, produce fluent but meaningless sentences

Question 8

strengths of localisation

Answer 8

RESEARCH SUPPORT
- Peterson et al: brain scans to show Wernicke’s area active during listening and Broca’s active during reading
- supports neuro functions as localised
RESEARCH SUPPORT
- Dougherty et al: out of 44 OCD patients who underwent a cingulotomy, 1/3 had a success response
- suggests cingulate gyrus responsible for aggressive behaviour so localised

Question 9

limitations of localisation

Answer 9

USE OF ANIMALS
- Lashley: studied localisation in rat brains
- cannot fully generalise findings to human cognitive processes as human brains may have a different structure so function differently
INTERDEPENDCE OF AREAS
- Dejerine: loss in ability to read due to damage to visual cortex and Wernicke’s
- suggests complex behaviour built up by different areas of the brain not just separate areas