localisation of function in the brain Flashcards
frontal lobe
motor area which controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body
and expressive language
temporal lobe
location of auditory ability such as the analysis of speech based information
occipital lobe
location for vision, nerve fibres from the inner half of the retina of each eye travel to the opposite sides of the brain
parietal lobe
somatosensory area responds to heat, cold, touch, and pain and our sense of body movement
amount of somatosensory area devoted to a particular body part denotes its sensitivity
cerebral cortex of both hemispheres is divided into 4 lobes:
frontal
parietal
occipital
temporal
motor area
back of forntal lobe
controls voluntary movement
damage = loss of control over fine movements
somatosensory area
front of parietal lobes
processes sensory info about the skin (touch)
visual area
in the occipital lobe
each eye sends info form the right vidual field to the left visual cortex
auditory area
in the temporal lobe
analyses speech based info
damage = partial hearing loss
where is wernicke’s area
left temporal lobe
effects of damage: temporal lobe
left temporal lobe results in linguistic deficits - known as Wernicke’s aphasia
effects of damage: frontal lobe
result in loss of control over fine movements
damage to occipital lobe
damage to left hemisphere can produce a loss of vision to the right side
where is Broca’s area
left frontal lobe
localisation
certain areas of the brain have specific functions
localisation case study PEE
P = research to support
E = Phineas Gage, during an accident, had an iron pole go through his left cheek and exit his brain and skull. he survived by his temperament had changed from being kind and reserved to boisterous and rude
E = this supports localisation because it shows the left frontal love is responsible for regulating temperament
lateralisation
some physical and psychological functions are controlled by a particular hemisphere
left side of body control right hemisphere
lateralisation: left hemisphere
language
lateralisation: right hemisphere
recognising faces
cerebral cortex
the outer layer of both hemispheres and covers the inner parts of the brain
3mm thick
what separates su from animals - human’s is more developed
wernicke’s area
language understanding
wernicke’s aphasia
Patients are able to produce speech that resembles fluent language but actually is meaningless
broca’s area
speech production
muscle movements for speech
Broca’s aphasia
deficit in the ability to produce language, reading and writing
language comprehension generally preserved
Broca’s evidence
tan, who could only say the word tan
conducted a postmortem and found an impaired ability to produce language due to damage to Broca’s area
localisation ao3 - brain. scan evidence to support
Petersen et al used brain scans to show activity in Wernicke’s area during a listening task and Broca’s area during a reading task
there are a number of objective methods for measuring activity in the brain providing sound, scientific evidence of localisation
counter point for localisation ao3
however, Lashley removed areas of the cortex in rats learning the route through a maze.
learning required all of the cortex rather than being confined to one particular area
this suggest that higher cognitive processes are not localised but distributed in a more holistic way in the brain
localisation - model has been questioned ao3
Dick and Tremblay found that very few researchers still believe language is only in Broca’s and wernicke’s area
advanced techniques such as FMRI have identified regions in the right hemisphere
this suggest that rather than being confined to a couple of key areas, language may be organised more holistically in the brain
localisation - evidence is limited ao3
as unique cases if neurological damage, such as Phineas Gage its difficult to make generalisations based on a single individual as conclusions may depend in the subjective interpretation of the researcher
suggests that some evidence supporting localisation may lack validity, oversimplifying brain processed and undermining the theory
