Localisation of Function

Question 1

Broca Area

Answer 1

Case Study = Tan could understand spoken language but unable to say words other than ‘Tan’
^ Broca conducted post mortem exam and found lesions in left frontal lobe
. Led to theory that speech production is on left side of brain

Question 2

Evaluation of Broca’s Area

Answer 2

. Brain decays = further when exposed to air
. Case study = not generalised

Question 3

Wernicke Area

Answer 3

Wernicke receptive aphasia = inability to understand language, usually result of stroke
. Found patients with lesions to Wernicke’s area still able to speak but unable to comprehend language

. Language involves seperate motor and sensory region
- Motor = Broca
- Sensory = Wernicke

Question 4

Evaluation for Broca and Wernicke Area

Answer 4

Broca:
. Dronkers re-examined preserved brains of 2 of Broca patients (inc Tan)
^ MRI shows other areas could have caused reduced speech
. Lesions can cause temp speech disruption (usually not severe)

. Individual Differences

. Gender differences = women tend to have larger Broca and Wernicke area - makes it difficult to map specific areas

Question 5

Motor Cortex

Answer 5

Found in both hemispheres (contra-lateral)

Question 6

Sematosensory Cortex

Answer 6

Responsible for processing sensory info responding to temp, touch pain and pressure and sense of movement
. Found in both hemispheres

Question 7

Visual Centres

Answer 7

. Located at back of brain in visual cortex, spans both hemispheres
. Contra-lateral
. Visual cortex contains different areas, each processing different types of visual info

Question 8

Auditory Centres

Answer 8

Both hemispheres have auditory cortex - one in right temporal lobe and one in left

Question 9

Evaluation
(Research Support)

Answer 9

. Gage had an accident where iron rod blasted through his frontal lobe. After accident had a personality change which suggests frontal lobe is in charge of mood regulation

Question 10

Evaluation
(Contradicting Evidence)

Answer 10

Lashley removed areas of cortex in rats that were learning a maze and found this had no effect on their progress
^ suggests for more complex cognitive functions the whole brain is involved

Question 11

Evaluation
(Plasiticity)

Answer 11

Equipotentiality takes place in patients who have had a brain injury which is when brain reorganises itself to recover lost function in a different part of the brain to the one that was damaged. If localisation was the case for each behaviour we carry out, plasiticity would not be possible