localisation of function in the brain

Question 1

localisation of function definition

Answer 1

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

Question 2

motor area definition

Answer 2

a region of the frontal lobe involved on regulating movement

Question 3

somatosensory area definition

Answer 3

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

Question 4

visual area definition

Answer 4

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

Question 5

auditory area definition

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Broca’s area definition

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Wernicke’s area definition

Answer 7

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

Question 8

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

Answer 8

Broca and Wernicke

Question 9

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

Answer 9

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

Question 10

what did Broca and Wernicke argue

Answer 10

localisation of function

Question 11

what can localisation of function sometimes be called

Answer 11

cortical specialisation

Question 12

what is localisation of function

Answer 12

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

Question 13

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

Answer 13

2 symmetrical halves called the left and right hemisphere

Question 14

what is controlled by a certain hemisphere

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what is lateralisation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

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

Answer 16

right hemisphere

Question 17

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

Answer 17

left hemisphere

Question 18

what hemisphere is language linked to

Answer 18

left

Question 19

what is the cerebral cortex

Answer 19

the outer layer of both hemisphere

Question 20

what is the cortex of both hemispheres subdivided into

Answer 20

4 centres called the lobes of the brain

Question 21

what are the 4 lobes of the brain

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what is a lobe

Answer 22

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

Question 23

where is the motor area

Answer 23

back of the frontal lobe- in both hemispheres

Question 24

motor area function

Answer 24

controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body

Question 25

what does damage in the motor area lead to

Answer 25

may result in a loss of control over fine movements

Question 26

where is the somatosensory area

Answer 26

front of both parietal lobes which is separated from the motor area by a valley called the central sulcus

Question 27

somatosensory area function

Answer 27

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

Question 28

where is the visual area

Answer 28

in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain

Question 29

how do eyes send information

Answer 29

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

Question 30

what can damage in the left hemisphere cause (sight)

Answer 30

produce blindness in part of the right visual field of both eyes

Question 31

where is the auditory area

Answer 31

temporal lobes

Question 32

auditory area function

Answer 32

analyses speech-bases information.

Question 33

damage to auditory area

Answer 33

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

Question 34

where is language restricted to in most people

Answer 34

left side of the brain

Question 35

what did Broca identify

Answer 35

a small area in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production

Question 36

who is Broca

Answer 36

a surgeon

Question 37

Broca’s area function

Answer 37

speech production

Question 38

what does damage to broca’s area cause

Answer 38

Broca’s aphasia which is characterised by speech that is slow and laborious and lacking in frequency. also have difficulties with prepositions and conjunctions

Question 39

Broca’s famous patient

Answer 39

‘Tan’ as that was the only word he could say

Question 40

what was Wernicke describing (linked to Wernicke’s aphasia)

Answer 40

people who has no problem producing language but severe difficulties understanding it so the speech they produced was fluent but meaningless

Question 41

where is Wernicke’s area

Answer 41

left temporal lobe

Question 42

Wernicke’s area function

Answer 42

responsible for language understanding

Question 43

damage to Wernicke’s area

Answer 43

Wernicke’s aphasia which causes production of nonsense words (neologisms) as part of the context to their speech

Question 44

what as Phineas Gage doing to cause the accident

Answer 44

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

Question 45

what happened to Phineas Gage during accident

Answer 45

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

Question 46

what happened to Gage after accident

Answer 46

personality changed as accounts suggest her had turned from someone who was calm and reserved to someone who was quick-tempered and rude

Question 47

why is Gage seen as a landmark case in science

Answer 47

change to his temperament following the accident suggests that the frontal lobe may be responsible for regulating mood

Question 48

strength of localisation of functions - evidence from neurosurgery

Answer 48

-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

Question 49

strength of localisation of functions - evidence from brain scans

Answer 49

-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 Peterson (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

Question 50

limitation of localisation of functions - counterpoint to evidence from brain scans

Answer 50

-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

Question 51

limitation of localisation of function - language localisation questioned

Answer 51

-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

Question 52

evaluation of localisation of function in the brain - case study evidence

Answer 52

-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