localisation of function in the brain Flashcards

1
Q

localisation of function definition

A

the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours, processes or activities

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2
Q

motor area definition

A

a region of the frontal lobe involved on regulating movement

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3
Q

somatosensory area definition

A

an area of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information such as touch

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4
Q

visual area definition

A

a part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information

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5
Q

auditory area definition

A

located on the temporal lobe and concerned with the analysis of speech-based information

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6
Q

Broca’s area definition

A

an area of the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere (in most people), responsible for speech production

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7
Q

Wernicke’s area definition

A

an area of the temporal lobe (encircling the auditory cortex) in the left hemisphere (in most people), responsible for language comprehension

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8
Q

who discovered in the 19th century that specific areas of the brain are associated with particular physical and psychological functions

A

Broca and Wernicke

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9
Q

what was thought before Broca and Wernicke’s research (and case of Phineas Gage)

A

supported the holistic theory of the brain- that all parts were involved in the processing of thought and action

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10
Q

what did Broca and Wernicke argue

A

localisation of function

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11
Q

what can localisation of function sometimes be called

A

cortical specialisation

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12
Q

what is localisation of function

A

idea that different parts of the brain perform different tasks and are involved with different parts of the body. it follows that then if a certain area of the brain becomes damaged the function associated with that area will become affected

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13
Q

what is the cerebrum (main area of the brain) divided into

A

2 symmetrical halves called the left and right hemisphere

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14
Q

what is controlled by a certain hemisphere

A

some of our physical and psychological functions are controlled or dominated by a particular hemisphere which is called lateralisation

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15
Q

what is lateralisation

A

some of our physical and psychological functions are controlled or dominated by a particular hemisphere

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16
Q

what is activity on the left side of the body controlled by

A

right hemisphere

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17
Q

what is activity on the right side of the body controlled by

A

left hemisphere

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18
Q

what hemisphere is language linked to

A

left

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19
Q

what is the cerebral cortex

A

the outer layer of both hemisphere

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20
Q

what is the cortex of both hemispheres subdivided into

A

4 centres called the lobes of the brain

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21
Q

what are the 4 lobes of the brain

A

-frontal lobe
-parietal lobe
-occipital lobe
-temporal lobe

22
Q

what is a lobe

A

a part of an organism that is separate in some way from the rest. each lobe in the brain has different functions

23
Q

where is the motor area

A

back of the frontal lobe- in both hemispheres

24
Q

motor area function

A

controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body

25
what does damage in the motor area lead to
may result in a loss of control over fine movements
26
where is the somatosensory area? How is it seperated form the motor area (in formtal lobe)?
front of both parietal lobes which is separated from the motor area by a valley called the central sulcus
27
somatosensory area function
where sensory information from the skin is represented. the amount of somatosensory area devoted to a particular body part denotes its sensitivity (receptors in our face and hands occupy over half of the somatosensory area
28
where is the visual area
in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain
29
how do eyes send information
each eyes sends information from the right visual field to the left visual cortex and from the left visual field to the right visual cortex
30
what can damage in the left hemisphere cause (sight)
produce blindness in part of the right visual field of both eyes
31
where is the auditory area
temporal lobes
32
auditory area function
analyses speech-bases information.
33
damage to auditory area
may produce partial hearing loss. the more extensive the damage, the more extensive the loss. in addition damage to a specific area of the temporal lobe of Wernicke's area may affect the ability to comprehend language
34
where is language restricted to in most people
left side of the brain
35
what did Broca identify
a small area in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production
36
who is Broca
a surgeon
37
Broca's area function
speech production
38
what does damage to broca's area cause
Broca's aphasia which is characterised by speech that is slow and laborious and lacking in frequency. also have difficulties with prepositions and conjunctions
39
Broca's famous patient
'Tan' as that was the only word he could say
40
what was Wernicke describing (linked to Wernicke's aphasia)
people who has no problem producing language but severe difficulties understanding it so the speech they produced was fluent but meaningless
41
where is Wernicke's area
left temporal lobe
42
Wernicke's area function
responsible for language understanding
43
damage to Wernicke's area
Wernicke's aphasia which causes production of nonsense words (neologisms) as part of the context to their speech
44
what as Phineas Gage doing to cause the accident
whilst working on the railroad preparing to blast a section of rock with explosions to create a new railroad, he dropped his tramping iron onto the rock, causing the explosive to ignite
45
what happened to Phineas Gage during accident
meter length pole went through his left cheek, passing behind his left eye and exiting his skull from the top of his head taking a proportion of the brain which was mainly his left frontal lobe
46
what happened to Gage after accident
personality changed as accounts suggest her had turned from someone who was calm and reserved to someone who was quick-tempered and rude
47
why is Gage seen as a landmark case in science
change to his temperament following the accident suggests that the frontal lobe may be responsible for regulating mood
48
strength of localisation of functions - evidence from neurosurgery
-damage to areas of the brain has been linked to mental disorders -neurosurgery (surgery on the brain) is a last resort methos for treating some mental disorders, so targeting specific areas of the brain which may be involved. for example a cingulotomy isolates a region called to cingulate gyrus which has been implicated with OCD. Dougherty et al (2002) reported on 44 people with OCD who had undergone. at post-surgical follow-up after 32 weeks 30% had met criteria for successful response to surgery and 14% partial response --> success suggests that behaviours associated with serious metal disorders may be localised
49
strength of localisation of functions - evidence from brain scans
-brain scans supports the idea that many everyday brain functions are localised -petersen et al (1988) used brain scans to demonstrate Broca's area was active during a reading task. a review of long-term memory studies by Buckner and Petersen (1996) revealed that semantic and episodic memories reside in different parts of the prefrontal cortex. these studies confirm localised area for everyday behaviours --> objective methods for measuring brain activity provided sound scientific evidence that many functions are localised
50
limitation of localisation of functions - counterpoint to evidence from brain scans
-challenge to localisation of function theory comes from Lashley (1950). Lashley removed area of the cortex (between 10 and 50%) in rats that were learning the route through a maze. no cortex area was found to be more important than any other in terms of the rat's ability to learn the route. the process of learning seemed to require every par of the cortex not just a particular area --> higher cognitive processes such as learning are localised but distributed in a more holistic way in the brain
51
limitation of localisation of function - language localisation questioned
-language may not just be localised to Broca's and Wernicke's areas -a recent review by Dick and Tremblay (2016) found that only 2%of modern researchers think that language in the brain is completely controlled by Broca's and Wernicke's areas. advanced in the brain imaging techniques, such as fMRI, mean that neural processes in the brain can be studies with more clarity than ever before. it seems that language function is distributed far more holistically in the brain than was first thought. so called language streams have been identifies across the cortex, including brain regions in the right hemisphere, as well as subcortical regions such as the thalamus --> suggests that, rather than being confined to a couple of key areas, language maybe organised more holistically in the brain, which contradicts localisation theory
52
evaluation of localisation of function in the brain - case study evidence
-unique cases of neurological damage support localisation theory, such as the case of Phineas Gage -however, there are problems with case studies. it is difficult to make meaningful generalisations from the findings of a subjective interpretation of the researcher