Structure & Function of the Brain (AQA GCSE Psychology): Flashcards
Exam code: 8182
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How is the brain divided, and what thin layer covers it?
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How is the brain divided, and what thin layer covers it?
Into two hemispheres, left and right, covered by a thin layer known as the cerebral cortex.
Name the four main lobes of the brain.
The frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe.
True or False?
Each lobe of the brain is found in only one hemisphere.
False.
Each lobe is divided between the two hemispheres — there is symmetry in the brain, with each lobe mirroring itself on the right and left hemisphere.
Define the function of the frontal lobe.
Located at the front of the brain, the frontal lobe is responsible for motor coordination (voluntary movement, in the motor cortex), language production (particularly Broca’s area), and executive functioning such as planning, reasoning and impulse-control.
Executive functioning such as planning, reasoning and impulse-control is specifically the job of the .
Executive functioning such as planning, reasoning and impulse-control is specifically the job of the prefrontal cortex.
Define the function of the parietal lobe.
Located at the top of the brain, the parietal lobe enables people to understand sensory information detected via touch (e.g. heat/cold, vibrations, pressure, pain) in the somatosensory cortex, and to understand where parts of their body are — even with your eyes closed you still know where your left ankle is.
What did Raine et al. find about impulsive murderers?
They did not use their prefrontal cortex (located in the frontal lobe) when engaged in a cognitive task.
Define the function of the occipital lobe.
Located at the back of the brain, the occipital lobe is responsible for sight (in the visual cortex) — it decodes visual information sent from the eyes and turns it into forms that can be used to navigate and interpret the environment.
Which other visual functions does the occipital lobe regulate?
Spatial processing, perception (distance and depth), and face recognition.
Where is the temporal lobe located, and what is it responsible for?
On either side of the brain (around where the ears are). It is responsible for auditory processing (hearing, in the auditory cortex), language comprehension (particularly Wernicke’s area), and memory retrieval and the processing of emotions.
True or False?
Wernicke’s area is located in the frontal lobe.
False.
Wernicke’s area is in the left hemisphere of the temporal lobe and handles language comprehension. It is Broca’s area — for language production — that sits in the frontal lobe.
What did Maguire et al. find about the brains of London taxi cab drivers?
Increased grey matter was found in the hippocampus, which is located in the temporal lobe.
True or False?
Draganski et al. found that participants who had learnt a juggling routine showed more grey matter in their temporal lobe.
True.
Participants who had learnt a juggling routine showed more grey matter in their temporal lobe.
Define the role of the cerebellum.
The cerebellum plays a vital role in movement and balance, receiving messages from the spinal cord as to how to move. Its name means ‘little brain’ in Latin.
Although it is a small structure, the cerebellum contains around of the total neurons in the brain.
Although it is a small structure, the cerebellum contains around half of the total neurons in the brain.
What two things does the cerebellum maintain when coordinating bodily movements?
Posture and muscle tone.
Where does the cerebellum receive sensory feedback from, and what does it use it for?
From the muscles and the inner ear — it uses this to fine-tune balance and coordination, e.g. adjusting posture in real time to stop you falling over when you trip.
Which cognitive functions does the cerebellum also play a role in?
Language, memory and attention.
Define localisation of function (LOF).
Localisation of function is the theory that specific behaviours, skills and functions are controlled by specific regions of the brain — e.g. the hippocampus has been strongly implicated in the processing of memory.
What does localisation of function assume about behaviour?
That there is a biological basis to behaviour — i.e. the brain controls every aspect of what we do.
Which three techniques can be used to measure localisation of function?
MRI, fMRI and PET scanning.
Define the function of the motor area/cortex.
Located in the frontal lobe, the motor area is primarily responsible for movement.
True or False?
Damage to the right motor area would result in impaired movement on the right side of the body.
False.
The motor area is hemispheric — damage to the right motor area would result in impaired movement on the left side of the body, and vice versa.
Define the function of the somatosensory area/cortex.
Located in the parietal lobe, it receives messages from neurons all over the body containing information about environmental stimuli (e.g. heat, cold, pain), and controls how we feel sensations via touch/contact.
What would damage to the somatosensory area mean for a person?
They would become less sensitive to pain or to changes in temperature.
Where is the visual area located, and what does it do?
In the occipital lobe. It decodes visual information sent from the eyes and turns it into forms that can be used to navigate and interpret the environment.
True or False?
The left visual field sends information to the visual area in the left hemisphere.
False.
The right visual field sends information to the visual area in the left hemisphere, and the left visual field sends information to the visual area in the right hemisphere.
Damage to the visual area may cause .
Damage to the visual area may cause blindness or sight impairment.
Where is the auditory area located, and what may damage to it result in?
In the temporal lobe. It is responsible for auditory processing (e.g. hearing), and damage to it may result in hearing loss or impairment.
True or False?
Most language functions — speech and comprehension — are located in the right hemisphere.
False.
Most language functions (speech and comprehension) are located in the left hemisphere.
Broca’s area is located in the left lobe; damage to it is likely to result in Broca’s aphasia, a difficulty producing or forming speech.
Broca’s area is located in the left frontal lobe; damage to it is likely to result in Broca’s aphasia, a difficulty producing or forming speech.
Where is Wernicke’s area, and what is damage to it likely to result in?
Wernicke’s area is located in the left temporal lobe. Damage is likely to result in Wernicke’s aphasia — the person can usually still speak fluently, but has difficulty understanding language, and their speech becomes meaningless or hard to follow.
What did Maguire et al. find about spatial navigation?
That spatial navigation may be localised to the hippocampus.
What did Raine et al. find about executive functioning?
That executive functioning may be localised to the prefrontal cortex.
Who was Wilder Penfield?
A Canadian neurosurgeon, who was hugely interested in the localisation of function in the brain.
Which condition were Penfield’s patients being treated for?
Severe epilepsy.
Define the ‘Montreal procedure’.
The ‘Montreal procedure’ was a technique that targeted specific neurons using electrical stimulation to destroy them, which would in turn reduce epileptic seizures.
Describe the sample used in Penfield’s study.
Individual patients with epilepsy, gathered over 30 years of investigation — the research comprised a collection of more than 1000 case studies.
Each patient lay down and, after being given , Penfield stimulated different areas of their brain and recorded their responses.
Each patient lay down and, after being given local anaesthetic, Penfield stimulated different areas of their brain and recorded their responses.
What did patients report when the somatosensory area was stimulated?
They felt a tingling sensation, or that they were moving — even though they remained lying down.
What did patients report when the visual area was stimulated?
That they could see various objects, shapes and colours.
True or False?
When the temporal lobe was stimulated, patients reported feeling a range of emotions and a sense of deja-vu.
True.
Stimulating the temporal lobe produced a range of emotions (e.g. fear) and a sense of deja-vu.
What happened when temporal lobe stimulation produced memories?
Patients reported the memories as if the events were happening in the present — although they remained aware of where they were and of what was happening. In short, patients appeared to be experiencing a range of hallucinations.
What did Penfield conclude about the temporal lobe?
That the temporal lobe is linked to memory storage, and that the emotions and meaning of specific memories are stored differently in the brain — i.e. the temporal lobe plays a role in interpreting emotion and memory.
Penfield concluded that the temporal lobe acts as the .
Penfield concluded that the temporal lobe acts as the interpretive cortex.
Define the reliability strength of Penfield’s study.
Penfield used precise, objective, clinical methods which were replicable, giving his research good reliability.
Give a second strength of Penfield’s study.
Penfield contributed a huge amount of knowledge to the understanding of localisation of brain function.
True or False?
Penfield’s findings can be generalised to people who do not have epilepsy.
False.
The findings are not generalisable to non-epileptic people — the brains of epileptic patients may be different to non-epileptic brains, due to the potential damage caused by epilepsy.
Penfield’s later research produced inconsistent findings: of the 520 patients studied, only reported recalling past experiences when their temporal lobe was stimulated.
Penfield’s later research produced inconsistent findings: of the 520 patients studied, only 40 reported recalling past experiences when their temporal lobe was stimulated.
Define the inconsistent findings weakness of Penfield’s study.
Penfield’s later research produced inconsistent findings, which suggests the interpretive cortex does not always respond the same way — meaning his conclusions may lack validity.
What ethical question is worth raising about Penfield’s research?
It was conducted at a time when ethics committees were not as stringent as they are now, so it is worth posing the question of what additional damage Penfield’s research could have inflicted on his patients.
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