Localisation of function in the brain

    Cards (10)

    • Localisation of function
      The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours
    • Localisation of function
      • The frontal lobe is involved in motor functions
      • The parietal lobe is involved in sensory functions such as touch
      • The occipital lobe receives and processes visual information
      • The temporal lobe is involved in speech-based language functions
    • Broca's area
      A small area in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production
    • Wernicke's area
      A region in the left temporal lobe responsible for language understanding
    • Damage to Broca's area
      Causes Broca's aphasia, characterised by slow, laborious speech lacking in fluency
    • Damage to Wernicke's area
      Causes Wernicke's aphasia, characterised by fluent but meaningless speech and the production of nonsense words
    • Hemispheres of the brain
      • The cerebrum is divided into two symmetrical halves, the left and right hemispheres
      • Activity on the left-hand side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere, and activity on the right-hand side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere
      • Language is linked to the left hemisphere
    • Motor, somatosensory, visual and auditory centres
      • The motor area in the frontal lobe controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body
      • The somatosensory area in the parietal lobe processes sensory information from the skin
      • The visual area in the occipital lobe processes visual information
      • The auditory area in the temporal lobe processes speech-based information
    • Damage to the left hemisphere can produce blindness in part of the right visual field of both eyes
    • Damage to the auditory area in the temporal lobe may produce partial hearing loss, with the extent of the loss depending on the extent of the damage