Week 6 Lateralization Flashcards
How are the brain hemispheres asymmetric?
- Anterior posterior torque pattern
- Flip brain upside down can see that right hemisphere has larger width of frontal lobe and the left hemisphere has a larger occipital lobe.
- Left hemisphere has smaller surface area but thicker cortex area
Are the right and left hemispheres of the brain identical?
No they are specialized in terms of structure and function
what is the scientific term for Wernickes area?
Planum temporale
In which hemisphere of the brain is the planum temporale larger?
left hemisphere
What divides the left and right hemispheres of the brain?
corpus collosum
Describe the corpus callosum
Bundle of white matter tracks that connects the two hemispheres of the brain and allows for communication across the hemispheres
Describe lateralization of function
- The tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other (functions more localized to one brain hemisphere)
- does NOT mean the dominant hemisphere is exclusive to that function
What are some dominant functions of the brains left hemisphere?
- language
- speech
- positive emotions
What are some dominant functions of the brains right hemisphere
- music
- spatial relations
- negative emotions
Lateralization of language based off of dominant hand
What to areas govern production of speech?
- Wernicke’s area
- broca’s area
Broca’s area function
formulates a speech response and stimulates motor cortex
Wernicke’s area function
processing incoming speech and comprehends it
Where is Broca’s area found?
frontal lobe
Where is Wernicke’s area found?
temporal lobe
