L8" HEMISPHERIC SPECIALISATION AND LANGUAGE Flashcards
(10 cards)
how are the cerebral hemispheres connected?
bundled axons forming the corpus callosum
what is the divided visual field?
the visual pathway from the eye to the cerebral cortex via lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus
describe the visual pathway when looking ahead
- things visible on the left are analysed in the right visual cortex and vice versa
- stimuli presented in the left visual field give rise to signals sent to the right hemisphere
describe how the split brain gives evidence for hemispheric specialisation for language
- signals cannot cross between hemispheres
- stimuli processed by the left hemisphere (right of fixation) could be verbally reported but stimuli processed by the right cannot (but can draw)
- right hemisphere unable to generate speech
describe how the block design task gives evidence for hemispheric specialisation for visuospatial problem solving
recreating a picture from a set of blocks is easy with the left hand (right hemisphere) but not with right hand
describe how a hemisphere is deactivated to give evidence for hemispheric specialisation & lateralisation of language function
- wada test
- sodium amytal injected into carotid arteries
- give patient an object, wake up and ask what it was
- unable to verbally report
which hemisphere contains fundamental language components
left
where is Broca’s area?
inferior frontal lobe
what is affected by Broca’s aphasia?
language production
symptoms of Broca’s aphasia
- slow, laboured speech output
- anomia - failure to remember names of things
- paraphasic errors - substituting incorrect speech sounds
- telegraphic speech
- repetition
- agrammatism - difficulty with grammatic utterances eg passive voice