Language
•
Aphasia is an impairment of language, usually
caused by left hemisphere damage either to
Broca’s area (impaired speaking) or to
Wernicke’s area (impaired understanding).
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Broca’s Area
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Receives impulse from Wernicke’s
Area and converts it into motor
commands.
Damage: disrupts speaking
Person can understand language
Words may not be properly formed
Speech is slow and slurred.
Patients may get frustrated because
they know that something is wrong.
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Wernicke’s Area
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The area in our brain that allows
understanding of spoken and written
language.
It is the part that enables a person to
interpret language, so damage to this part
causes the person to become unaware of his
own speech and the speech of others.
Sometimes the person can speak clearly, but
the words that are put together make no sense.
This way of speaking has been called "word
salad" because it appears that the words are
all mixed up like the vegetables in a salad.
Might use complete nonsense words.
Often not aware of their problem.
Examples of Aphasia – Broca’s and
Wernicke’s Area
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Broca’s Area
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2IiMEbMnPM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aplTvEQ6ew&feature
=fvw
Wernicke’s Area
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKTdMV6cOZw&featu
re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhYN7NTIKU&featu
re=related
The Cerebrum:
_____ Hemispheres, _____ Lobes
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Cerebral Hemispheres – two specialized halves
connected by the corpus callosum.
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Left hemisphere – verbal processing: language, speech, reading,
writing
Right hemisphere – nonverbal processing: spatial, musical,
visual recognition
The Corpus Callosum: communication
between hemispheres
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If you were to pull the two halves of the brain apart along the
fissure, about midway down you would see a bundle of fibers
called the corpus callosum.
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This bundle of fibers is made up of several million myelinated axons and it
is what allows each half of the brain _____________ with the other half.
Split-Brain
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Doctors severed the corpus callosum of patients
with epileptic seizures
Seizures all but eliminated
 Patients now have split brains
 How did this surgery impact their personality and
intellect?
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.
It’s Opposite Day!
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Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of
the body. The left hemisphere controls
movement and sensation on the right side of the
body, and the right hemisphere controls the left
side of the body.
When it comes to our vision, this is a little
different. Our eyeballs are basically divided into
two halves, one half from each eye sends
information to one half of our brain.
Because the two halves of our brains
communicate, we end up understanding the
whole picture instantly.
Split-Brains
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Read on page 84 -85 – Examine Diagrams
Right Brain/Left Brain: Visual
Input
Split Brain Patients
With the corpus callosum severed, objects (apple)
presented in the right visual field can be named.
Objects (pencil) in the left visual field cannot.
Divided Consciousness
Try This!
Try drawing one shape with your left hand and
one with your right hand, simultaneously.
Watch this man’s
experiments in
action!
http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=ZMLz
P1VCANo
BBC
Hemisphere Dominance and
“Handedness”
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Hemisphere Dominance:
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Many psychologists believe that a person can be “Right-brain dominant”
or “left-brain dominant,” where that side of their brain tends to influence
them more than the other
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“Handedness” –
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Take the dominance quiz to see your results.
Lefties- The right hemisphere dominates, so odds are they will be better at
and deal more with their right hemisphere. This increases the chances that
they will do well in art, music, architecture, etc.
Righties- The left hemisphere dominates, so odds are they will be better at
and deal more with their left hemisphere. This increases the chances that
they will do well in verbal activities, debate, logic, writing, etc.
There is no real evidence for “right-brain” or “left-brain”
people, or handedness for that matter…but it is still
interesting to consider!
Recap
For more
information, see
http://serendip.bry
nmawr.edu/bb/kins
er/Structure1.html
Figure 3.16 Structures and areas in the human brain
Figure 3.19 The cerebral cortex in humans