Localisation of function

Question 1

What is localisation of function?

Answer 1

Refers to the principle that specific functions (language, memory, hearing etc) have specific locations within the brain

Question 2

What is the motor area?

Answer 2

A region in the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement

Question 3

What is the somatosensory area?

Answer 3

An area of the parietal lobe that receives and processes information such as touch

Question 4

What is the visual area?

Answer 4

A part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes information

Question 5

What is the auditory area?

Answer 5

Located in the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere and concerned with the analysis of speech based information

Question 6

What is Broca’s area?

Answer 6

An area in the frontal lobe that produces speech

Question 7

What is Wernicke’s area?

Answer 7

An area in the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere responsible for language comprehension

Question 8

What happened in the 19th century?

Answer 8

Scientists such as Paul Broca and Karl Wernicke discovered specific areas of the brain are associated with psychological and physiological functions

Question 9

What view did scientists previously support?

Answer 9

The holistic view - that all parts of the brain are involved in procession action and thought

Question 10

What theory did Broca and Wernicke argue?

Answer 10

Localisation of function (cortical specialisation) - the idea that different parts of the brain are involved with different parts of the body - it is thought that if a part of the brain is injured its function is affected

Question 11

What is the brain divided in to?

Answer 11

Two symmetrical halves called the left and right hemispheres

Question 12

What is lateralisation?

Answer 12

The idea that our functions are controlled by a particular hemisphere

Question 13

What is the general rule in lateralisation?

Answer 13

That everything that happens on the right side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere and vice versa

Question 14

What is the cerebral cortex?

Answer 14

The outer layer of both hemispheres - it is 3mm thick and separates us from other animals.

Question 15

What colour does the cortex appear and why?

Answer 15

Grey - due to the local cell body

Question 16

What is the cortex divided into?

Answer 16

Four lobes which are named after the bones beneath which they lie

Question 17

What are the four lobes?

Answer 17

The frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe - each is associated with a different function

Question 18

What is at the back pf the frontal lobe?

Answer 18

The motor area which is responsible for voluntary movement on the opposite side of the body

Question 19

What could damage to the motor area result in?

Answer 19

Loss of control over fine motor movements

Question 20

What is at the front of the parietal lobe?

Answer 20

The somatosensory area

Question 21

What is the somatosensory area separated from the motor area by?

Answer 21

A valley called the central sulcus

Question 22

What is the somatosensory area?

Answer 22

The area where sensory information from the skin e.g. relating to touch, pressure etc goes

Question 23

What does the amount of somatosensory area devoted to a particular part of the body denote?

Answer 23

It’s sensitivity e.g, receptors for our face and hands make up over half the area

Question 24

What dies the occipital lobe contain?

Answer 24

The visual area (visual cortex) with each eye sending information from right visual field to left hemisphere and vice versa

Question 25

What would damage to the left hemisphere cause?

Answer 25

Issues in the right visual field for both eyes

Question 26

What do the temporal lobes contain?

Answer 26

The auditory area which analyses speech based information

Question 27

What may damage to the temporal lobes cause?

Answer 27

Hearing loss

Question 28

What may damage to Wernicke’s area affect?

Answer 28

The ability to comprehend language

Question 29

Where is language restricted to for most people?

Answer 29

The left hemisphere

Question 30

What did Paul Broca identify?

Answer 30

A small area in the frontal lobe responsible for speech production

Question 31

What can damage to Broca’s area cause?

Answer 31

Broca’s aphasia - characterised by slow speech that is laborious and lacking fluency

Question 32

What did Wernicke describe?

Answer 32

patients with no problem producing language but severe difficulties understanding it, speech produced was fluid but meaningless

Question 33

What area did Wernicke identify?

Answer 33

An area in the left temporal lobe that was responsible for language and that if damaged would lead to Wernicke’s aphasia

Question 34

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 34

Patients would often produce nonsense words (neologisms) as part of their speech