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PSY224 Behavioural & Cognitive Neuroscience > Week 5: Brain Lateralisation > Flashcards

Week 5: Brain Lateralisation Flashcards

1
Q

What is hemispheric lateralisation?

A

Is a contralateral system meaning that the left brain controls the right side of the body and the right brain controls the left side of the body

Doesn’t apply to smell

Dominant side tends to be opposite side to handedness

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2
Q

What are the structural asymmetries between hemispheres?

A

RH = enlargement of the anterior portion, mostly smaller dendrites

LH = enlargement of planum temporal (Wernicke’s Area), parts of the thalamus are larger, mostly larger dendrites

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3
Q

What are the 3 parts of the corpus callosum?

A

Genu: prefrontal cortex
Body: pre-motor & primary motor cortex
Splenium: primary somatosensory cortex

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4
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A

connects hemispheres for the transfer of information between them

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5
Q

What is the homotopic connection of the CC?

A

Structures present in the same locale in both hemispheres that have fibres connecting those corresponding areas

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6
Q

What is the heterotopic connection of the CC?

A

Structures with different locations in each hemisphere with fibres linking different areas of the 2 hemispheres

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7
Q

What do all primate callosal connections have in common?

A

start and finish at same layer of neocortex

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8
Q

What are the other commisures?

A

Anterior: Olfactory pathway, pain sensation, connects temporal regions

Habenular: pineal gland, epithalamus

Posterior: pupillary light reflex, pineal gland epithalamus

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9
Q

What conclusions were draw from the Myers & Sperry split-brain experiment?

A

Cat forebrain has ability to act as 2 separate forebrains

Function of CC is to carry info between hemispheres

Best way to study CC function is to limit info in single hemisphere

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10
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Vision?

A

LH = Words, Letters

RH = Faces, Geometric patterns, emotional expression

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11
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Audition?

A

LH = Language sounds

RH = non-language sounds, music

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12
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Touch?

A

LH = X

RH = tactile patterns, Braille

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13
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Movement?

A

LH = complex & ipsilateral movement

RH = movement in spatial patterns

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14
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Memory?

A

LH = verbal, finding meaning in memories

RH = non-verbal, perceptual aspects

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15
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Language?

A

LH = speech, reading, writing, arithmetic

RH = emotional content

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16
Q

RELATIVE DOMINANCE

Spatial ability?

A

LH = X

RH = Mental rotation of shapes, geometry, direction, distance

17
Q

In split-brain testing, what happens when object is presented to Left hemisphere? (RVF)

A

touching with right hand or viewing in RVF

Could pick out correct object with right hand

Could name correct object

Could not pick out right object with left hand

18
Q

In split-brain testing, what happens when object is presented to right hemisphere (LVF)?

A

touching with left hand or viewing in LVF

could pick out correct object with left hand

claimed nothing about being present

could not pick out right object with right hand

19
Q

What is the RH specialised for?

A

Mental rotation, spatial matching, mirror-image task
Better able to draw/match 3D figure
Superior block design performance

Spatial Processing

20
Q

What are the 4 language deficits?

A

Anomia - finding words

Dysarthria - controlling muscles use in speech

Apraxia - impairment of motor planning & programming of speech articulation

Aphasia - deficit in language comprehension or production (any disorder involving language)

21
Q

What are the 2 language areas?

A

Broca’s Area - Speech
Wernicke’s Area - Understanding Language

Both are connected by arcuate fasciculus

22
Q

What is Broca’s aphasia?

A

Speech problems; often non-fluent or agrammatic

23
Q

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

Speech comprehension problems; difficulty understanding speech

24
Q

What is the left brain vs right brain myth?

A

Although some neural functions rely on one hemisphere more than the other for some functions, there is no evidence that people use one hemisphere more than the other

25
Q

True or False:

Cerebral lateralisation and handedness is exclusive to humans.

A

False.

26
Q

What are the 3 theories of hemispheric specialisation?

A

Motor theory
Linguistic theory
Analytic-Synthetic Theory

27
Q

What is the motor theory?

A

Posits that left is specialised for fine motor movement

28
Q

What is the linguistic theory?

A

Based on the idea that primary function of LH is language; slightly more popular than previous theory

29
Q

What is the analytic-synthetic theory?

A

Suggests there are 2 fundamentally different mode of thinking; analytic on the left and synthetic on the right

LH = logical, sequential, analytic
RH = immediate, overall synthetic judgements

Vagueness of the theory makes it difficult to test empirically

PSY224 Behavioural & Cognitive Neuroscience (12 decks)

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