Transcript The Brain - AP Psychology Community

The Brain
Physiology and behavior:
Localization of function
• Explain one study related to localization of
function in the brain.
• Examine one interaction between cognition
and physiology in terms of behavior
(Evaluate two relevant studies).
Early investigation of localization of
function
Phrenology
• The attempt to make
inferences about ones
personality and
intelligence by
examining skull
formation.
• Done by manually
searching for bumps
and indentations.
Franz Joseph Gall
In general….
• If there is a bump or
protrusion in that
area it indicates
MORE of that ability
or trait.
• If there is an
indentation it
indicates a
deficiency of that
ability or trait.
Phrenology?
• Do you think it is a valid
science?
• Work was picked up by
Cesare Lombroso
• These ideas, although
dangerous, are still the
basis behind modern
day criminal profiling.
Case studies of people with naturally
occurring brain damage
Phineas Gage
Paul Broca
• Worked with a patient
he called “Tan”
• “Tan” could only say the
word “Tan”
• “Tan” died
Broca’s Area
• In post-mortem
autopsy, Broca found
damage in the left
frontal area of Tan’s
brain.
• Broca discovered the
area of our brain that is
responsible for making
our mouth move during
speech.
Broca’s Aphasia
• Aphasia means damage
to a speech area of our
brain.
• Very common in TBI or
stroke patients.
Sarah Scott
Carl Wernicke
• Discovered the area of
our brain that deals with
the comprehension of
written and spoken
speech.
• Left temporal lobe.
• So what do you think
Wernicke’s Aphasia is like?
Studies of individuals who have
undergone brain surgery
HM
• HM (Henry Gustav
Molaison) had epilepsy and
had part of his temporal
lobes removed in hope to
reduce seizures.
• They took out a little too
much and removed part of
his hippocampus.
• Experienced both
Retrograde and
Anterograde Amnesia.
Memories and the Hippocampus
Retrograde Amnesia
• Forget past.
• It can be time period, event
or select person.
Anterograde Amnesia
• Cannot form new
memories.
Roger Sperry and the Split Brain
•The top of our brain is divided into
a left and right hemisphere.
•Contralateral controlled- left
controls right side of body and vice
versa.
•This is called Brain Lateralization.
•Lefties are better at spatial and
creative tasks.
•Righties are better at logic.
Roger Sperry and the Split Brain
• Corpus Collosum
attaches the two
hemispheres of cerebral
cortex.
• Sperry first
experimented by taking
out the Corpus
Collosum from cats.
• Then tried it on 10
epileptic patients.
They became known as split brain
patients.