Localisation of function

What is localisation?

a suggestion that different functions of the brain are found in different areas of the brain

What area is located in the frontal lobe?

motor cortex

What is the function of the motor cortex? (2)

regulates movement, damage to it may result in a loss of control over movement

What area is located in the parietal lobe?

somatosensory cortex

What is the function of the somatosensory cortex? (2)

processes sensory information, the more somatosensory area devoted to a certain body part the more sensitive the body part will be

What area is located in the occipital lobe?

visual cortex

What is the function of the visual cortex? (2)

receives and processes visual information, damage to this area may result in blindness

What area is located in the temporal lobe?

auditory cortex

What is the function of the auditory cortex? (2)

analyses speech, damage to this area may result in hearing loss

What are language centres and where are they located? (2)

parts of the brain responsible for language, found in the left hemisphere

What language centre is found in the frontal lobe?

Broca’s area

What is the function of the Broca’s area?

responsible for speech production

What would damage to the Broca’s area result in? (2)

expressive aphasia, speech that is slow and lacks fluency

How was the Broca’s area found? (3)

post-mortem of Louis Leborgne, he was referred to as Tan as that was the only word he could say, he showed extensive damage to his left frontal lobe

Which language centre is located in the temporal lobe?

Wernicke’s area

What is the function of the Wernicke’s area?

responsible for speech comprehension

What may damage to the Wernicke’s area result in? (3)

receptive aphasia, cannot speak in coherent sentences but are fluent, cannot understand verbal or written commands

How did they discover the Wernicke’s area?

patients who had damage to the auditory cortex in the left temporal lobe had specific language impairments

How does plasticity challenge localisation? (2)

plasticity suggests if a certain area of the brain is damaged, other areas can take over their function

What does evidence show to support plasticity over localisation? (2)

when the brain has become damaged through illness or accident and a particular function has been compromised or lost, the rest of the brain appears to be able to reorganise itself to recover the function

What is the law of mass action as a point to contradict localisation of function? (2)

complex behaviours require more than one area of the brain to occur, so behavioural function is spread widely across the cortices rather than being localised

What is the equipotentiality theory as a point to both support and contradict localisation? (3)

basic motor and sensory functions are localised, but higher mental functions are not localised, so intact areas of the cortex could take over responsibility for specific cognitive functions following brain injury

What is global aphasia?

damage to both Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area