Localisation Of Function

Question 1

What is localisation in the context of the brain?

Answer 1

The idea that specific regions of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours.

Question 2

What is Broca’s area responsible for?

Answer 2

Speech production.

Question 3

What is Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 3

Damage to Broca’s area that inhibits normal speech production.

Question 4

What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?

Answer 4

Comprehending language.

Question 5

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 5

Damage that inhibits the ability to understand words, resulting in speech that has regular rhythm and grammar but doesn’t make sense.

Question 6

What did the Dronkers et al. (2007) study find?

Answer 6

Re-examined preserved brains of 2 Broca’s patients to identify the extent of any lesions that contributed to reduced speech abilities.

Found other areas also contributed to patients reduced speech abilities.
Broca’s area may not be the only region responsible for speech production.

Question 7

What did Demasio (1994) study about Phineas Gage reveal?

Answer 7

Likely damage on both left and right hemispheres of the frontal lobe, with more damage to underlying white matter in the left hemisphere than the right.

Question 8

What is a key point about the localisation of functions?

Answer 8

It is important for control as emotions, as seen in Gage’s case.

Question 9

What did Dronker et al highlight about language and cognition? (Weakness)

Answer 9

Language and cognition are more complicated than once thought and involve networks of brain regions rather than being localized to specific areas.

Question 10

What is a weakness of the localisation theory?

Answer 10

Communication between brain areas is more important than localisation; it is crucial how brain areas communicate with each other.

Wernicke’s area suggested that different regions of the brain have different specialist functions and must interact.

Question 11

Demasio (1994) study

Answer 11

Built model of Phineas Gage’s skull to map out how the iron rod passed through his skull and which parts of his brain was badly damaged.

Question 12

Conclusions from Demasio’s study

Answer 12

-Ventromedial area of frontal lobe important for making sensible decisions and controlling impulses around people.
-Important for control of emotions (Gage found difficult).