Localisation of function in the brain Flashcards
What did Broca and Wernicke discover
- that particular areas of the brain are associated with particular physical and psychological functions, in short they argued for localisation of function, the idea that different parts of the brain perform different tasks
In short what did Broca and Wernicke argue
- in short they argued for localisation of function, the idea that different parts of the brain perform different tasks
What is the term used to describe when some of our physical and psychological functions are controlled or dominated by a particular hemisphere
- lateralisation
What is the outer layer of both hemispheres
- the cerebral cortex
How thick is the cerebral cortex
- 3mm thicc
Why does the cortex appear grey
- due to the location of cell bodies
What is at the back of the frontal lobe
- the motor area which controls voluntary movement
What is at the front of both parietal lobes
- the somatosensory area
Where is the visual area located
- at the back of the brain
Where is the auditory area located
- in the temporal lobes
What did Broca identify
- small area in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production
What does damage to Broca’s area cause
- Broca’s aphasia which is characterised by speech that is slow, laborious and lacking in fluency
What was Wernicke describing patients as
- no problem producing language but severe difficulties understanding it
What did Wernicke identify
- a region in the left temporal lobe responsible for language comprehension
What would damage to the Wernicke’s area result in
- Wernickes aphasia
1-Outline brain scan evidence for localisation
2-What does it suggest
- Peterson at al used brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task
- that these areas of the brain have different functions
Give a limitation of localisation of function
- Plasticity has been seen to occur when a part of the brain is damaged
