Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation Flashcards
Brocas area (left hemisphere) Function
Involved in the production of spoken and written language
Brocas area (left hemisphere) Damage
Damage to this area can produce Brocas aphasia where a person may show slow speech that lacks fluency or there is a complete absence of speech
might produce short meaningful speech that requires a great deal of effort
Wernicke’s area (left hemisphere) function
Involved in the understanding of language
Wernicke’s area (left hemisphere) damage
Damage to this area can cause Wernicke’s aphasia where individuals cannot understand spoken language or where a person produces nonsense words as part of their speech
Auditory cortex (both hemispheres) function
associated with analysing speech based information
Auditory cortex (both hemispheres) damage
Damage could produce partial hearing loss through to full hearing loss
Motor cortex (both hemispheres) function
involved in the creation of voluntary motor movements
Motor cortex (both hemispheres) damage
Damage can cause loss of control over fine movements, small movements on the opposite side of the body
Somatosensory cortex (both hemispheres) function
Processes info from the senses in the skin
including touch, pressure, pain and temperature from all areas in the body
Somatosensory cortex (both hemispheres) damage
Damage can produce problems in perceiving touch, failure to recognise object by touch
Visual Cortex (both hemispheres) function
Receives info directly from the eyes
Right visual field- left hemisphere
Left visual field- right hemisphere
Processes info such as colour and shape
Visual Cortex (both hemispheres) damage
Damage can produce blindness, hallucinations or an inability to see colour or motion
