__________ produce a high-resolution, three-dimensional image.
Found in 1874, __________ area was found during an autopsy, which revealed a lesion on the left __________ lobe of a patient who had incomprehensible speech and zero ability to comprehend written or spoken language.
All of the following are issues with lesioning except its __________.
Neurogenesis has been seen in the __________ and in the __________.
Compare and contrast a CT scan and a PET scan.
A CT scan uses X-rays taken from different angles to create images of brain structure, such as cross-sectional views. A PET scan uses a small amount of radioactive tracer, often one related to glucose, to show patterns of metabolic activity in the brain. Thus, CT primarily shows anatomy, while PET provides information about brain function.
What research on intact brain patients resulted in the understanding of the relative speeds of verbal and virtual-spatial processing in the two hemispheres?
The enlargement of the somatosensory area for dominant fingers in violin players is an example of the effects of __________ on brain plasticity.
Compare the historical view on hemispheric specialization with the current perspective of hemispheric specialization. What type of research occurred to propel this change in perspective?
Historically, hemispheric specialization was often described as a strict division: the left hemisphere was associated with language and logic, while the right was associated with creativity and nonverbal abilities. The current view is more nuanced: some functions are lateralized, but the hemispheres work together, and many abilities involve networks on both sides of the brain. Split-brain research helped reveal specialized functions in each hemisphere, while later brain-imaging and other studies showed the extensive cooperation between them.
Compare and contrast Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area. Describe how each was discovered.
Broca’s area, in the left frontal lobe, is primarily involved in producing speech. Paul Broca identified it by studying patients who could understand language but had great difficulty speaking, including a patient known as “Tan”; autopsy revealed damage to the left frontal lobe. Wernicke’s area, in the left temporal lobe, is primarily involved in understanding language. Carl Wernicke described it in 1874 after studying patients who spoke fluently but nonsensically and had difficulty understanding spoken and written language; autopsy revealed damage to the left temporal lobe. Both areas are important for language, but they contribute to different functions.
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