localisation of function in the brain Flashcards
What is localisation of function?
The idea that different parts of the brain are responsible for different tasks and are involved in different parts of the body.
What are the 4 lobs in a human brain?
Frontal
Parietal
temporal
occipital
Where is the motor area located in the brain and what does it do?
It is located in the frontal lobe and it is involved in regulating movement.
Damage to this area may lead to loss of control over fine movements.
Where is the somatosensory area located in the brain and what does it do?
It is located in the parietal lobe and is involved in processing sensory information.
Where is the visual area located in the brain and what does it do?
It is located in the occipital lobe and is involved in receiving and processing visual information.
Where is the auditory are located in the brain and what does it do?
It is located in the temporal lobe and is involved in the processing of speech-based information.
Where is the Brocas’s area in the brain and what does it do?
It is located in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere and it is responsible for speech production.
What does damage to Broca’s area cause?
Brocas aphasia, which is characterised by slow speech and lacking in fluency.
Who was Broca’s famous patient who suffered from Broca’s aphasia?
He was called Tan.
Because that was the only word that he could say.
Where is Wernick’s area located in the brain and what does it do?
Located in the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere and is responsible for language understanding.
What does damage to Wernick’s area cause?
Wernick’s aphasia, which is characterised by people producing nonsense words as part of their speech.
Strengths of localisation of function in the brain.
Damage to areas of the brain have been linked to mental disorders.
Dougherty- reported on 44 people with OCD who had undergone a cingulotomy (procedure where doctors inactivate parts of the brain associated with OCD. After 36 weeks after the surgery 30% had met the criteria for successful response to the surgery and 14% for partial response.
Evidence from brain scans supports the idea that many everyday brain functions are localised. Peterson demonstrated how Wernick’s are is active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task.
Limitation of localisation of function in the brain.
Language may not be localised to just Broca’s and Wernick’s areas.
Dick et.al found that only 2% of modern researchers think that language in the brain is completely controlled by Broca and Wernick’s area.
Due to advancements in technology and fMRI machines, psychologists have found that language function is distributed far more holistically in the brain.
This suggests that language may be organised more holistically in the brain and not confined to two areas.
