localisation of function in the brain Flashcards
where is the motor area located?
in one or both hemispheres?
at the back of the frontal lobe in both hemispheres
what is the role of the motor area?
controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body (contralateral)
true or false?
the motor area is topographically upside down
true
define ‘topographically upside down’
what can damage to the motor area result in?
loss of fine movement control
where is the somatosensory area located?
in one or both hemispheres?
at the front of the parietal lobe in both hemispheres
what is the role of the somatosensory area?
receives incoming sensory information from the skin to produce sensations related to pain/pressure etc.
where is the visual area located?
in one or both hemispheres?
in the occipital lobe in both hemispheres
what is the role of the visual area?
receives + processes visual information (e.g. right visual field to left cortex + left visual field to right cortex)
where is the auditory area located?
in one or both hemispheres?
in the temporal lobe in both hemispheres
what is the role of the auditory area?
analyses speech-based information
what can damage to the auditory area result in?
some hearing loss
where is Broca’s area located?
left frontal lobe
what is Broca’s area responsible for?
speech production
what can damage to Broca’s area cause?
what is this characterised by?
Broca’s aphasia - characterised by slow, laborious, non-fluent speech
where is Wernicke’s area located?
left temporal lobe
what is Wernicke’s area responsible for?
language comprehension
what can damage to Wernicke’s area cause?
what is this characterised by?
Wernicke’s area - characterised by producing nonsense/meaningless words during speech
how does Dougherty use evidence from neurosurgery to support localisation?
he reported on 44 people with OCD who had undergone a cingulotomy
at post-surgical follow-up, almost 30% had met criteria for successful response to surgery + 14% for partial response
how does the success of some brain procedures support localisation?
suggests that behaviours associated with serious mental disorders may be localised (extra evidence from Dougherty)
how did Petersen use brain scans to support localisation?
showed how Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task + how Broca’s area was active during a reading task
how do LTM studies support localisation?
semantic + episodic memories reside in different parts of the prefrontal cortex
how does Lashley provide a counterpoint to the strength of ‘evidence from brain scans’?
he removed areas of the cortex (10-50%) in rats that were learning routes through a maze
no area was proven to be more important than any other area in terms of rats’ abilities to learn the route
how does the process of learning disagree with localisation?
it seems to require every part of the cortex rather than being confined to a particular area
suggests that higher cognitive processes (e.g. learning) aren’t localised but instead distributed in a more holistic way in the brain
how has language localisation been questioned by modern researchers?
only 2% of modern researchers think that language is completely controlled by Broca + Wernicke
how have advances in brain imaging techniques contradicted localisation theory?
neural processes can be studied with more clarity due to advances
language streams have been identified in the right hemisphere + thalamus, suggesting that language function is distributed more holistically
