Biopsychology- Localisation of function in the brain
LOCALISATION VS HOLISTIC THEORY
LOCALISATION- idea that different parts of brain have different
... [Show More] functions
19th century- Broca + Wernicke discovered certain areas of brain have certain functions
Before, scientists assumed all parts of brain were involved in thought + action (holistic view)
Now its assumed brain damage to a specific area the associated function would also be
damaged
HEMISPHERES OF THE BRAIN + THE CERBRAL CORTEX
Brain’s divided into 2, left + right hemispheres
LATERELISATION- some functions are controlled by a particular hemisphere
Activity on left of body is controlled by right hemisphere and vice-versa
CEREBRAL CORTEX- 3mm outer layer covering hemispheres, much more developed than in
animals and it’s grey- aka grey matter
MOTOR, SOMATOSENSORY, VISUAL + AUDITORY CENTRES
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Cortex is divided in 4 lobes named after the bones beneath: front lobe, parietal lobe,
occipital lobe, temporal lobe, and each has different functions
MOTOR AREA- part of frontal lobe involved in regulating movement
Located in frontal lobe along precentral gyrus
On both hemispheres- on right controlling muscles on left of body and vice-versa
Different parts control different parts of body
These are arranged logically- region controlling foot next to region controlling leg
SOMATOSENSORY AREA- area of parietal lobe processing sensory info
Detects sensory events from different regions of body
In parietal lobe along postcentral gyrus
Uses sensory info from skin to produce sensations such as pain, temperature which it
then localises to specific body regions
On both hemispheres- one side receives sensory info from opposite side of body
VISUAL AREA- part of occipital lobe that receives and processes visual info
Visual processing begins in retina
Nerve impulses from retina travel to brain via optic nerve
Most terminate in the thalamus which acts as a relay station passing info to visual
cortex
Right hemisphere receives input from left side of visual field + vice-versa
Visual cortex contains different areas that process different visual info (e.g. colour,
shape)
AUDITORY AREA- part of temporal lobe which analyses speech-based info
Concerned with hearing
In temporal lobes on both sides where auditory cortex is
Begins in cochlea in inner ear, sound waves converted to nerve impulses
These travel via auditory nerve to auditory cortex
Pit stop at brain stem where basic decoding happens
Then onto thalamus- relay station and carries out further processing of auditory
stimulus
Last stop at auditory cortex
Sound has already been largely decoded at this point, in auditory cortex its
recognised and may result in an appropriate response
THE LANGUAGE AREA OF THE BRAIN
BROCA’S AREA- area of frontal lobe in left hemisphere responsible for speech production
Treated someone called ‘Tan’- could only say word ‘tan’
Studied 8 patients with similar language deficits and lesions in left frontal
hemisphere
Those with damage to [Show Less]