localisation of function

• What does localisation of function refer to in the brain?

  Different brain parts are specialised for functions
• What is the main opposing view to localisation of function?

  The holistic theory of brain function
• Who is Phineas Gage?

  A man with significant brain injury
• What happened to Phineas Gage in 1848?

  A pole passed through his head
• What abilities did Phineas Gage retain after his injury?

  Touch, see, hear, and speech
• How did Phineas Gage's personality change after his injury?

  He became irresponsible and made poor decisions
• What are the main brain areas involved in localisation of function?

  • Motor cortex
  • Somatosensory cortex
  • Visual cortex
  • Auditory cortex
  • Broca’s area
  • Wernicke’s area
• Where is the motor cortex located?

  Frontal lobe
• Where is the somatosensory cortex located?

  Parietal lobe
• Where is the auditory cortex located?

  Temporal lobes
• Where is the visual cortex located?

  Occipital lobe
• Where is Broca’s area located?

  Left frontal lobe
• Where is Wernicke’s area located?

  Left temporal lobe
• Who was Wilder Penfield?

  A Canadian neurosurgeon studying brain functions
• What did Penfield's research demonstrate?

  Localisation of function in the brain
• What is the motor cortex responsible for?

  Conscious control of voluntary movement
• How does the motor cortex control body movement?

  The right side controls the left side
• Why do some body parts have larger amounts of cortex devoted to them?

  They require precise control
• What sensations does the somatosensory cortex process?

  Touch, pain, pressure, and temperature
• How does the visual cortex process information?

  Processes visual information from the eyes
• What happens when the visual cortex is stimulated?

  Patients report seeing visual displays
• What is blindsight?

  Loss of conscious visual experience
• What does the auditory cortex process?

  Processes sound information
• What happens when the auditory cortex is stimulated?

  Patients report hearing sounds
• What is Broca’s area responsible for?

  Speech production
• What did Paul Broca study?

  A patient nicknamed "Tan"
• What was significant about Tan's condition?

  He could understand but not speak
• What is Broca’s aphasia?

  Difficulty in speech production
• What are the three main problems associated with Broca’s aphasia?

  Anomia, agrammatism, articulation problems
• What does Wernicke’s area do?

  Responsible for language comprehension
• What did Karl Wernicke study?

  Patients who could speak but not understand
• What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

  Fluent speech with impaired meaning
• What does damage to Broca’s area lead to?

  Expressive aphasia
• What does damage to Wernicke’s area lead to?

  Receptive aphasia
• What did Roland's research in 1993 find?

  Motor cortex activated during motor tasks
• What did Kaas et al. (1981) discover about the somatosensory cortex?

  It has four separate strips for sensitivity
• What did Damasio (1989) find about expressive aphasia?

  It occurs with damage to adjacent frontal areas
• What did Dronkers (2007) confirm about Tan's brain damage?

  Damage was greater than Broca identified
• What is Lashley’s theory of equipotentiality?

  All cortical areas are equally involved in learning
• What did Lashley find in his studies with rats?

  Effects of lesions depend on size, not location