the brain exam questions Flashcards
briefly evaluate research using split brain patients to investigate hemispheric lateralisation of function (4 MARKS)
sperry research was highly controlled due to low extraneous variables, and therefore it ensures that the cause and effect relationships is due to the manipulation of the cut corpus callosum or confounding variables. however, it had low external validity as it is unlike how these individuals would process information and act in a normal day to day life. it also had a very small sample size
using the knowledge of plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma, explain Josie recovery
As Josie is only 12, her brain is still maturing and therefore recovering from trauma is more likely. new information will result in the formation of new neural pathways and repeated use of these will result in the pathway becoming stronger, and therefore, this can compensate for damage areas. also, plasticity allows the brain to cope better with indirect effects of brain damage such as swelling
using your knowledge of the functions of Broca & motor area describe the problems of suffering a stroke to the left hemisphere
as a consequence of damage to Broca area, it is likely they will suffer from language and speech problems. it will affect language production, but not understanding and therefore, can only talk in short, slow meaningful sentences. as a consequence of damage to the motor area, it will result in an inability to control voluntary fine movements on the right side
discuss what research has shown about localisation of function in the brain (8 MARKS)
that some functions are more localised than other eg somatosensory and motor
functions are highly localised to particular areas of cortex. Other functions seem more widely distributed eg the language system (though some components may be localised eg speech comprehension). Localisation can involve restricted areas of cortex eg motor control, or broader aspects eg right hemisphere visuo-spatial functions. Dougherty found taht after 32 months, after 1 or more linglotomies, 32% met criteria for treatment response which suggests that certain brain areas are responsible for symptoms of OCD
explain what is meant by the term plasticity and functional recovery (2 MARKS)
Brain plasticity refers to the ability of the brain to adapt and change in response to life and new experiences and new learning.
Functional recovery is the transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma to other undamaged areas - it does this through a process of neuronal unmasking where ‘dormant’ synapses (which have not received enough input to be active) open connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of the brain
outline evidence in relation to brain plasticity (4 MARKS)
Maguire found there was an increase in grey matter in the brains of taxi drivers compared with controls in 2 brain regions, the right and left hippocampus. The increased volume was found in the posterior hippocampus. There was a positive correlation found between the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and volume in the right posterior hippocampus
these results highlight the idea of plasticity and the brains ablity to change, as a result of experience
explain what is meant by the term localisation of function (3 MARKS)
localisation of function is the idea that certain functions have certain locations within the brain. for example, broca area is said to be responsible for speech production and the wernicke area is responsible for language comprehension
outline the role of the motor area in the brain (3 MARKS)
the role of the motor area is to control voluntary motor movements by sending signals to muscles in the body. it controls the muscles on the opposite side of the body, so the left hemisphere controls muscle movements on the right and vice versa. the regions of the motor area are arranged in a logical order, e.g. the region that controls finger movement is located next to the region that controls the hand, arm and so on
