localisation of function in the brain AO3

Question 1

brain scan evidence to support

Answer 1

• Peterson et al (1988), brain scans to show activity
• Wernicke’s = listening task
• Broca’s = reading task,
• suggesting these areas of the brain have different functions
• Tulving et al (1994) revealed semantic and episodic memories located in different parts of the frontal cortex
• highly sophisticated and objective methods to measure the activity in the brain provides scientific evidence for the localisation

Question 2

support from neurological evidence

Answer 2

• Surgically removing or destroying areas of the brain to control aspects of behaviour was developed in the 1950s = brutal but often effective
• Dougherty et al (2002) reported 44 OCD patients who had a cingulotomy → at a 32-week follow-up, ⅓ met the criteria for a successful response to surgery and 14% for partial response

➢ Suggests that symptoms and behaviours associated with mental disorders are localised

Question 3

neural plasticity challenges localisation theory

Answer 3

• When the brain is damaged and a function is lost, the rest of the brain is able to reorganise itself to recover the function
• Lashley = law of equipotentiality
• other areas of the brain ‘chip in’ so the same neurological action can be achieved
• However, this does not happen every time

Question 4

learning is too complex to be localised

Answer 4

• Lashley (1950) suggests higher cognitive functions are distributed in a holistic way
• Lashley removed 10% and 50% of the cortex in rats learning a maze → no area was more important than any other in terms of the rats’ ability to learn the maze
  ➢ As learning requires every part of the cortex rather than just particular areas, this suggests learning is too complex to be localised

Question 5

supporting case study

Answer 5

• Phineas Gage
• Such case studies, particularly those showing marked differences after trauma, demonstrate the idea that some areas of the brain are responsible for specific functions.
• However, with the use of case studies, the subjectivity of the conclusions drawn and the unusual sample, alongside a lack of control over confounding and extraneous variables, must also be considered.

Question 6

differences in gender

Answer 6

women have larger brocas and wernickes area than men
- the difference makes it difficult to map out specific areas