Localisation of the Function of the Brain

• Localisation of function of the brain

  Specific functions belong to specific areas of brain
• Brain hemispheres

  • Left hemisphere controls right body, Right hemisphere controls left body
• Lateralisation

  One hemisphere dominates functions
• Grey matter

  Cerebral cortex - outer layer of brain, grey colour
• Broca's area

  Frontal lobe, Left hemisphere, related to speech production
• Lesions (cuts) in the Right hemisphere do not cause speech deficits
• In 1861, a patient could only say "Tan"; a lesion was found in the Left hemisphere
• Wernicke's area

  Temporal lobe, comprehension of language
• Wernicke's area overlaps into motor regions and sensory regions - for vocals and processing stimuli for meaning
• Broca's area and Wernicke's area work together to create coherent conversation
• Frontal lobe

  Motor cortex - voluntary movement (sends signals to muscles of body); damage causes struggle with coordination and movement control
• Parietal lobe

  Somatosensory cortex - represents sensory info from skin receptors; the amount on a body part denotes sensitivity e.g. face and hands
• Occipital lobe

  Visual cortex - processes visual information
• AO1 topics

  • Localisation vs holistic - post 19th vs pre-19th
  • Hemispheres & cerebral cortex - lateralisation and cerebral cortex, 'grey matter'
  • Motor, somatosensory, visual and auditory centres - frontal, parietal and occipital lobes
  • Language area of brain - Broca and Wernicke's areas