Localisation Of Function: Flashcards
Challenges to localisation: equipotentiality
Lashley (1930)
This theory suggests that basic motor and sensory functions were localised but high mental functions were not.
Lashley claimed that intact areas of the cortex could take over responsibility for specific cognitive functions following the injury to the area normally responsible for that function
Thus effects of damage to the brain would be determined by the extent rather than the location of the damage
Communication maybe more important than localisation:
Wernicke claims that different regions of the brain are interdependent in the sense that in order to work they must interact with each other, thus communication is more important
This suggests that complex behaviours such as language are built up gradually as a stimulus enters the brain then moves through different structures before a response is produced
Damage to the connection between any two points in this process results in impairments that resemble damage to the localised brain region associated with a specific function
Support for language centres from aphasia studies:
Damage to Broca and Wernicke’s area results in different types of aphasia.
Expressive aphasia is an impaired ability to produce language (damage to Broca’s area) demonstrating this areas role in language production
Receptive aphasia is an impaired ability to understand language (damage to Wernicke’s area) demonstrating this areas role in language comprehension
Language production may not be confined to Broca’s area alone:
Dronkers et al.
examined the brains of two of Broca’s patients in order to identify any lesions in more detail using MRI imaging
The findings revealed that other areas besides Broca’s area could have contributed to the patients reduced speech abilities
This study suggests that language and cognition are far more complicated and involve networks of brain regions rather than being localised to specific areas
