Theories of the brain Flashcards
what were the three theories ofg theb brain
brain versus heart debate. the mind-body problem, phrenology
what are theories of the brain
scientific and non-scientific approaches to understanding the role of the brain in mental processes and behaviour
when was the brain-heart debate
c475 BCE - c1650
when was the mind-body probllemn
c1650-now
when was phrenology
1796-c1840s
brain versus heart debate
a historical debate as to whether the heart or the brain is responsible for mental processes, such as thought, emotion and behaviour
egyptian view on brain vs heart debate
first written account of the brain, believed that the brain held no purpose as it was discarded after death, not preserved like other organsd
hippocrates, greek philosophers and herophilus on brain vs heart debate
took the brain side of the debate as they had advanced klnowledge of the brain by scientifically dissecting bodies and recording their findings
heart side of the brain vs heart debate
heart is the source of all thoughts, feelings and behaviours, brain held no purpose
brain hypothesis of heart vs brain debate
the brain was the source of all thoughts, feelings and behaviours
what is the overall conclusion of the brain vs heart debate
brain hypothesis bbut acknowledges that the heart can also affect our thoughts, feelings behaviours
the mind-body problem
involves the question of whether our mind and body are distinct, seperate entities or whether they are one and the same thing
dualism
the belief that the human mind and body are seperate and distinguishable from one another, the mind is non-physical whereas the body is made up of physical matter
monism
the belief that the human mind and body are together a singular complete entity
mind
our thoughts, conciousnmess and mental processes, non-physical
body
structure of our brain and neurons that is made up of - physical
phrenology
the study of the shape and size of the human skull to determine personailt and mental functioning,
who was the founder of phrenology
Franz Joseph Gall, german physician
galls view
different mental functions are in different parts of the brain, known as localisation of function in the brain
what were galls three principles
- a persons faculties, intellectual abilities and personality traits depend on the organisation of their brain 2. the brain is made up of many organs, each of which was responsible for a different mental faculity 3. external form of the skull represents the internal form of the brain
what were vthe first brain experiments
ablation, leisioning, split brain experiments and neuroimaging
brain ablation
the surgical removal of parts of the brain
who was pierre flourens
was asked to investigate phrenology, he removed brain tissue in animals and then observed changes in their behaviour
lesioning
natural or experimentally damaged tissue of the brain used to study portions of the brain
who was Karl Lashley
physcologist who used ablation on animals, taught animals taks then used brain lesioning to see whether memory loss occured - discovered that learning and memeory are situated throughout the brain
phineas cage and what was concluded from him
man who lost his frontal lobe and lived, before he was honest anjd dependable after he was aggressive and uncaring, concluded that part of the brain removed controlled certain behaviours
cerebral hemisphered
the symmetrical healves of the cerebrum in the brain
corpus callosum
bundle of nerve fibers that connect the two hemisphjeres
split brain exp[eriments
involves surgically cutting strands of the nerve tissue in the corpus callosum to disconnect the two hemisphered
what did split brain experiments show
visual and motor movements are processed contralatterally and provided evidence of hemispheric specialisation
hemispheric specialisation
difference in functioning between the left and right hemispheres of the brain when performing a specific behaviour or task
who was roger sperry
studied patients who had undergone split brain surgery
who was split brain surgery performed on
people with epilepsy to stop seizures
left hemisphere function
movement of right side of body, language, logic and planning
right hemisphere function
movement of left side of the body, emotional recognition, creativity and imagination
