Localisation of Brain Function

• localisation of function 


  specific functions (physical and psychological) have specific locations in the brain
• the 4 lobes which make up the brain

  • occipital
  • temporal
  • parietal
  • frontal
• the 6 specialised areas in the brain

  • motor
  • somatosensory
  • visual
  • auditory
  • Broca‘s
  • Wernicke’s
• case study which shows support for localisation of the brain 


  Phineas Gage
• how Phineas Gage shows support for localisation of function in the brain 


  the change in his personality and temperament following the accident suggests that part of the brain that is responsible for regulating temperament is in the frontal lobe
• motor location 


  back of the frontal lobe
• motor function 


  controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body
• somatosensory location 


  parietal lobe
• somatosensory function


  processes sensor information related to touch, pressure, pain and temperature which it then localises to specific body regions
• visual location 


  the occipital lobe
• visual function 


  each eye sends information from the right visual field to the left visual cortex and the left visual field to the right visual cortex
• auditory location 


  temporal lobe
• auditory function 


  analyses speech-based information
• Broca’s location 


  frontal lobe in the left hemisphere
• Broca’s function 


  responsible for speech production
• Wernicke’s location 


  temporal lobe in the left hemisphere
• Wernicke‘s function

  responsible for speech comprehension