lovalisation of function in the brain AO1

Question 1

what is localisation of function

Answer 1

the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours, processes or activities.

Question 2

• explain the motor area
• where is it located

Answer 2

• a regional of the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement
• located at the back of the frontal lobe in both hemispheres

Question 3

• explain the somatosensory area
• where is it located?
• how is it separated from the motor area?

Answer 3

• an area of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information such as touch, from skin related to heat, pressure etc
• at the front of both parietal lobes
• by a valley called the central sulcus
• the amount of somatosensory area devoted to a particular body part denotes its sensitivity e.g. receptors in face and hands occupy over half of the somatosensory area

Question 4

• explain the visual area
• where is it located?

Answer 4

• a part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information
• in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain
• aka visual cortex

Question 5

• explain the auditory area

Answer 5

• located in the temporal lobe and concerned with the analysis of speech-based information

Question 6

explain the broca’s area

Answer 6

an area of the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere (in most people) and is responsible for speech production

Question 7

explain the wernickes area

Answer 7

• an area of the temporal lobe (encircling the auditory cortex) in the left hemisphere (in most people) and is responsible for language comprehension
• found around the same time as the broca’s area
• karl wernicke found some people had no problem producing language but they couldn’t understand it. The speech they produced was fluent but meaningless. Hee identifies the wernickes area in the left temporal lobe as being responsible for language understanding
• when damaged people get wernickes aphasia which is where they will often produce nonsense words as part of the content in their speech.

Question 8

what was the holistic theory before the localisation theory?

Answer 8

believed that all parts of the brain were involved in the processing of thought and action

Question 9

what is meant by lateralisation

Answer 9

when a dominant hemisphere controls something

Question 10

what is the cerebral cortex

Answer 10

• is the outer layer of both hemispheres
• about 3 mm thick

Question 11

how many centres is the cortex of both hemispheres subdivided into? what are they called?

Answer 11

• 4
• called lobes of the brain: the frontal lobe, parietal, occipital lobe, temporal lobe

Question 12

how many centres is the cortex of both hemispheres subdivided into? what are they called?

Answer 12

• 4
• called lobes of the brain: the frontal lobe, parietal, occipital lobe, temporal lobe

Question 13

• where is language restricted to in the brain?
• who identified the area for speech production. What did he find?
• what is the area called
• what could damage to this area mean
• who was broca’s most famous patient

Answer 13

• the left for most people
• Paul Broca 1880’s. He identified a small area in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production
• Broca’s area
• damage could cause Broca’s aphasia where speech is slow, and lacking in fluency
• tan because that’s the only word they could say