localisation of function

• localisation

  certain areas of the brain being responsible for certain functions
• BROCAS AREA

  located in left frontal lobe

  responsible for language production

  if damaged, trouble producing fluent language - known as brocas aphasia
• WERNICKES AREA

  located in left temporal lobe

  responsible for language comprehension

  if damaged, production of nonsensical words and not realising the use of incorrect language - known as wernickes aphasia
• MOTOR CORTEX

  located near rear of frontal lobe - in both hemispheres

  responsible for voluntary motor movements

  if damaged, issues with motor coordination on opposite side of the body
• SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

  located in parietal lobe

  processes information from the senses such as pressure or heat

  if damaged, trouble locating areas of sensitivity in the body
• VISUAL CENTRES

  located in occipital lobe

  processes visual information such as shape, colour or movement

  located in both hemispheres
• A03

  +case study on Phineas gage. Phineas was injured when an iron blasting rod shot through his prefrontal cortex. this caused damage to his limbic system, which holds behaviour and pain messages, and damage to his frontal cortex which is responsible for reasoning skills. this resulted in him being unable to make rational decisions as well as being unable to process emotions properly. therefore this supports the idea that certain areas in the brain are responsible for specific functions.

  however, as it was a case study huge individual differences and lacks generalisability
• A03

  -contradictory theory to localisation is holism whereby all arms of the brain are interdependent for a function rather than being reduced to one area being responsible for certain processes. this is supported through research on rats whereby when 20-50% of their cortices were removed, there was no indication of specific areas being responsible for helping the rats traverse through a maze. therefore, this suggests cognitive processes are too complex to be restricted to certain areas of the brain, thus meaning localisation is too simplistic
• A03

  -contradictory evidence - research has found different areas of the brain are involved in different functions. for example, it is assume that brocas area is locate in the left hemisphere of the brain, however in some individuals it is in the right. therefore this means that research cannot be generalised to everyone and further research needs to be conducted.