topic 4 - Lateralisation of function in the hemisphere Flashcards
what does lateralisation of function mean? define it.
lateralisation of function in the brain means that each hemisphere of the brain has different jobs or roles. Some behaviours are controlled more on the left side than the right side, with others are controlled more from the right than the left.
define the term ‘asymmetrical’. what does it refer to in terms of the human brain?
Asymmetrical refers to the two hemisphere of the brain being not equal in terms of what they do since each hemisphere controls different functions or plays a larger or smaller role in a particular behaviour. Although they may look the same, they are not mirror images of one another.
what side of the brain controls what? (vague explanation)
the left hemisphere controls all actions on the right side of our body ie, if our right hand moves, if our right eye sees something, it is processed in the left hemisphere. the same going for the right hemisphere it processes the left sides body.
what connects the two hemispheres together?
corpus callosum
what is the corpus callosum? functions etc.
the corpus callosum connects the right and left hemispheres through a thick layer of nerve fibres known as the corpus callosum. It allows the the two sides to communicate with each other so that the whole brain works as a whole. The two hemispheres retain their roles while working together to control behaviour in our body.
what roles does the left hemisphere have?
The left hemisphere plays a large role in processing language. An area in the left hemisphere known as ‘Broca’s area’ controls the production of speech. if it is damaged then people fins it difficult to talk. Other areas in our left hemisphere control our ability to write and to understand language.
what roles does the right hemisphere have?
the right hemisphere plays a role in spatial awareness. There are also parts in our right hemisphere that control our ability to recognise and perceive faces. It is involved in processing information we hear and also making sense of visual information that we see.
difference between males and females?
female friends often gossip while males are better at parking cars. These differences means something as it influences our behaviour and how our brains develop differently.
what are the sex differences in brain lateralisation?
females are thought to be better at language skills, such as finding which words have the same meaning while males are better at spatial skills (right-brain tasks), such as imagining what a shape would look like if it was shown from a different angle. There is some evidence that females may have a thicker corpus callosum meaning that they use both sides of their brains for some tasks.Males show dominance for one hemisphere, there is no equal spread of activity.
what are the strengths of lateralisation as an explanation of sex differences?
the strengths are that evidence have been provided which suggests that male and female brains act differently because of hoe the roles roles of different areas of the cortex are organised, A study by Harasty et al (1997) suggested that the parts of the brain that process and produce language are slightly bigger in females compared to males. This could explain why females are better in tasks that use that use language skills.
Another strength is there are plenty of evidence to support differences in the brain of males and females. Much of the evidence is gathered using scientific methods such as brain scans and laboratory experiments. These methods allow the research to be controlled and help prevent the interference of extraneous variables.
what are the weaknesses of lateralisation as an explanation of sex differences?
While there is evidence provided in Rilea et al (2005) study males did not always do better than females in spatial tasks. Furthermore, there were spatial tasks used in the study that did not use a lot of ‘right brain’ activity, So differences in how males and females use the right hemisphere for spatial tasks cannot account all the differences.
Another weakness is when a study published by Sommer et al (2004) suggested that there was no strong evidence that females use both hemispheres for language tasks, meaning that this is not a good explanation for girls being better at language skills than boys.
