Chapter 19 Higher mental functions.ppt

Chapter 19: Higher mental functions Chris Rorden University of South Carolina Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders University of South Carolina Methods of Study How do we infer brain function? Classically, we examined what went wrong when someone had a disorder within the brain and inferred that their injury was crucial for this task. Example: Patients with left frontal cortex injury have non-fluent speech. Now we visualize brain structures and localize functional areas using advanced equipment and technology Example: The left frontal cortex is activated during speech production. Functional Localization (previous lectures) Frontal Lobe Executive function Planning Sequencing Initiation – inhibition Voluntary movements Working memory Occipital Lobe Vision (Field cuts) Functional Localization Functionalization occurs over period of time. Brain becomes more specialized with development People who suffer brain injury early in life will utilize existing brain regions in novel ways. Plasticity allows compensation Cerebral Dominance Functional Specialization Brain preprogrammed for different uses of right and left hemispheres Left Hemisphere Most people have left hemisphere dominant for language Left hemisphere is called “Dominant” hemisphere Right handed people have longer planum temporale in left hemisphere which may be biased for use by dominant hemisphere Right hemisphere functions Right hemisphere involved in visual-spatial and constructional tasks, emotion and emotional intonation of speech and music. Right hemisphere is often referred to as the “Minor” Hemisphere Patients with injury to right cortex often exhibit neglect. Studies of lateralization can include tests such as Wada test – Today most studies use fMRI for this purpose Speech and Language Disorders Motor Speech Disorders Dysarthria - Paralysis or Paresis of Muscles Flaccid – LMN problem – hypernasal, breathy speech and imprecisely articulated co