localisation of function

Question 1

localisation of function

Answer 1

Specific functions appear to have specific locations within the brain.

Question 2

brain structure

Answer 2

The main part of the brain is divided into 2 halves called the left and right hemisphere.
The cortex of both hemispheres is subdivided into 4 lobes, and each of these lobes is associated with different functions.
Frontal lobe = at front of head, Parietal lobe = crown of head, Occipital lobe = back of head, Temporal lobe = temples

Question 3

motor cortex

Answer 3

Found at the back of the frontal lobe, in both hemispheres.
Responsible for voluntary movement, such as walking.
Damage may limit a person’s walking skills & loss of control of fine movement.

Question 4

somatosensory cortex

Answer 4

At the front of both parietal lobes
Responsible for sensing physical sensations on the skin, like pressure and heat.
The number of neurons here differs according to body part. For example, there are many more neuronal connections dedicated to processing information from the hands than the ankles because people use their hands to feel things much more commonly than they do their ankles.

Question 5

visual cortex

Answer 5

Located in both occipital lobes.
Responsible for processing visual information from the eyes.
The right hemisphere processes data from the left visual field of both eyes and the left hemisphere processes data from the right visual field of both eyes.
Damage to the left hemisphere can produce blindness in the right visual field and damage to the right hemisphere can produce blindness in the left visual field.

Question 6

auditory cortex

Answer 6

Located in both temporal lobes.
Responsible for processing sound.
The right hemisphere processes sound from the left ear and the left hemisphere processes sound from the right ear.
Damage may produce hearing loss.

Question 7

language

Answer 7

Only areas in the left hemisphere.
Includes Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.

Question 8

Broca’s area

Answer 8

Located in frontal lobe of left hemisphere.
Responsible for speech production. Damage here causes Broca’s aphasia which is characterised by slow speech that lacks fluency.

Question 9

Wernicke’s area

Answer 9

Located in temporal lobe of left hemisphere.
Responsible for language comprehension/ understanding. Damage here causes Wernicke’s aphasia which is characterised by severe problems in understanding language.

Question 10

AO3 - strength

Answer 10

Peterson et al used brain scans to show that Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task and that Broca’s area was active during a reading task.
This provides strong, scientific evidence that different functions in the brain have different locations.

Question 11

AO3 - strength

Answer 11

Phineas Gage - an explosion caused a metal pole to go through his cheek, passing behind his left eye and exiting his skull through the top of his head, taking a portion of his brain with it - most of his frontal lobe.
He survived but the damage to his brain left a mark on his personality. He had been calm and reserved however became quick-tempered and rude.
This suggests that the frontal lobe may be responsible for regulating mood.
However, this is a case study therefore it cannot be generalised.

Question 12

AO3 - limitation

Answer 12

Neuroscientists have found evidence of activity in Broca’s area when people perform cognitive tasks that have nothing to do with language. Researchers discovered 2 regions of Broca’s area, one selectively involved in language, the other involved in responding to many demanding cognitive tasks (such as performing maths problems).
Therefore localisation is too simplified - there are multiple areas involved in tasks.

Question 13

AO3

Answer 13

The notion of plasticity - when the brain has been damaged through illness or an accident and a function has been lost, the rest of the brain attempts to reorganise itself and try to recover the lost function.
Therefore, the brain can change/ adapt and areas are not fixed.