Area's Of the Brain

Area's Of the Brain

1. Language Centres

   • Wernicke's Area
     • German neurologist called Carl Wernicke
       • Discovered an area of the brain that was involved in understanding language
         • Found in the back portion of the temporal lobe
         • Patients with damage to this area could speak...
           • But were unable to understand language
       • He proposed that language involved separate motor and sensory regions
         • Which are located in different cortical regions
           • The sensory region, located in Wernicke's area is close to the regions of the brain responsible for...
             • Auditory and visual input
               • Information from these areas are transferred to the Wernicke's area when recognised as language and associated meaning
     • Responsible for the processing of spoken language
   • Neural Loops
     • There is a neural loop running between Brocha's area and Wenickle's area
       • Known as the arcuate fascicules
   • Broca's Area
     • Named after Paul Broca, French Neurosurgeon
       • Treated a patient called 'Tan'
         • He was unable to speak apart from saying the word 'tan'
           • However, he did understand language
             • This lead him to identify the existence of a language centre in the back portion of the frontal lobe
         • Studied 8 of patients with similar language deficits
           • Along with leisions in their front left hemisphere
     • Believed to be critical for speech production
       • However neuroscientists have found that when people preform cognitive tasks
       • However, neuroscientists have found that when people perform cognitive tasks...
         • Their Broca area is active
           • Fedorenko (2012) discovered 2 regions of Broca's area:
             • One is selectively involved in language
             • The other is involved in responding to many demanding cognitive tasks
               • Such as solving a maths problem

2. Visual Centres

   • Located in the visual cortex
     • The visual cortex spans both hemispheres
   • Visual processing begins in the retina
     • Light enters and strikes the photoreceptors
       • Nerve impulses from the retina travel to areas of the brain
         • Via the optic nerve
         • Most terminate in the thalamus
           • This acts as a relay terminal passing into the visual cortex
             • The right hemisphere receives information from the left hemisphere and vice versa
             • The visual cortex contains different areas that process information such as
               • Colour
               • Shapes
               • Movement

3. Auditory Centres

   • Concerned with hearing
   • Found in temporal lobes
     • On both sides of the brain
   • Begins in the cochlea in the inner ear
     • Sound waves are converted to nerve impulses
       • These are sent to the thalamus which acts as a relay station
         • This carries out further processing of the auditory stimulus
           • The auditory cortex is the final area
             • Sound has already been largely decoded by this point.
               • It is then recognised in an appropriate response