Deck 6: The Cerebral Cortex and Our Divided Brain

Question 1

The successful functioning of children who have experienced the surgical removal of an entire cerebral hemisphere best illustrates the value of

A) cognitive neural prosthetics.
B) neurogenesis.
C) plasticity.
D) constraint-induced therapy.

Answer 1

plasticity.

Question 2

Speech is processed primarily in the right hemisphere by the ________ of those who are left-handed and by the ________ of those who are right-handed.

A) minority; minority
B) majority; majority
C) minority; majority
D) majority; minority

Answer 2

minority; minority

Question 3

Cortical areas that are NOT primarily concerned with sensory, motor, or language functions are

A) called projection areas.
B) called association areas.
C) located mostly in the parietal lobe.
D) located mostly in the temporal lobe.

Answer 3

called association areas.

Question 4

The visual cortex is located in the

A) occipital lobes.
B) parietal lobes.
C) temporal lobes.
D) association areas.

Question 5

Which of the following is typically controlled by the left hemisphere?

A) making inferences
B) word recognition
C) the left side of the body
D) perceptual skills

Question 6

Which lobe of the cerebral cortex is most directly involved in speaking?

A) occipital
B) frontal
C) temporal
D) parietal

Question 7

Following massive damage to his frontal lobes, Phineas Gage was most strikingly debilitated by

A) multiple sclerosis.
B) memory loss.
C) auditory hallucinations.
D) irritability.

Question 8

The increasing complexity of animals' behavior is accompanied by an

A) increase in the size of the brainstem.
B) increase in the depth of the corpus callosum.
C) increase in the size of the frontal lobes.
D) increase in the amount of association area.

Question 9

An experimenter flashes the word FLYTRAP onto a screen facing a split-brain patient so that FLY projects to her right hemisphere and TRAP to her left hemisphere. When asked what she saw, the patient will

A) say she saw FLY.
B) say she saw TRAP.
C) point to FLY using her right hand.
D) point to TRAP using her left hand.

Question 10

Research with split-brain patients suggests that the ________ typically constructs the theories people offer to explain their own behaviors.

A) corpus callosum
B) left cerebral hemisphere
C) cerebellum
D) right cerebral hemisphere

Question 11

Research has found that the amount of representation in the motor cortex reflects the

A) size of the body parts.
B) degree of precise control required by each of the parts.
C) sensitivity of the body region.
D) area of the occipital lobe being stimulated by the environment.

Question 12

Brain scans indicate that well-practiced pianists have a larger-than-usual auditory cortex area that encodes piano sounds. This best illustrates

A) hemispherectomy.
B) lateralization.
C) cognitive neural prosthetics.
D) plasticity.

Question 13

The nerve fibers that enable communication between the right and left cerebral hemispheres and that have been severed in split-brain patients form a structure called the

A) reticular formation.
B) association areas.
C) corpus callosum.
D) parietal lobes.

Question 14

Beginning at the front of the brain and moving toward the back of the head, then down the skull and back around to the front, which of the following is the correct order of the cortical regions?

A) occipital lobe; temporal lobe; parietal lobe; frontal lobe
B) temporal lobe; frontal lobe; parietal lobe; occipital lobe
C) frontal lobe; occipital lobe; temporal lobe; parietal lobe
D) frontal lobe; parietal lobe; occipital lobe; temporal lobe

Question 15

Which of the following is typically controlled by the right hemisphere?

A) language
B) learned voluntary movements
C) arithmetic reasoning
D) perceptual tasks

Question 16

The visual cortex is located in the

A) occipital lobe.
B) temporal lobe.
C) frontal lobe.
D) parietal lobe.

Question 17

A picture of a dog is briefly flashed in the left visual field of a split-brain patient. At the same time a picture of a boy is flashed in the right visual field. In identifying what she saw, the patient would be most likely to

A) use her left hand to point to a picture of a dog.
B) verbally report that she saw a dog.
C) use her left hand to point to a picture of a boy.
D) verbally report that she saw a boy.

Question 18

In the brain, I outnumber neurons. I also provide nutrients to the neurons and help remove excess neurotransmitters. I am a

A) hormone.
B) myelin sheath.
C) glial cell.
D) gland.

Question 19

The regions of the parietal lobes that are involved in mathematical and spatial reasoning are known as

A) fissures.
B) reward centers.
C) glia.
D) association areas.

Question 20

Which portion of the cerebral cortex is most directly involved in making plans and formulating moral judgments?

A) occipital lobes
B) frontal lobes
C) temporal lobes
D) parietal lobes

Question 21

The occipital lobes are to ________ as the temporal lobes are to ________.

A) hearing; sensing movement
B) seeing; sensing touch
C) seeing; hearing
D) speaking; hearing

Question 22

Using a brain-computer interface, some paralyzed people may be able to move a robotic limb simply by thinking about moving it. This best illustrates

A) neurogenesis.
B) constraint-induced therapy.
C) cognitive neural prosthetics.
D) magnetic resonance imaging.

Question 23

One function of glial cells is to

A) control heartbeat and breathing.
B) mimic the effects of neurotransmitters.
C) provide nutrients to interneurons.
D) stimulate the production of hormones.

Question 24

The motor cortex is located in the ________ lobes.

A) occipital
B) temporal
C) frontal
D) parietal

Question 25

A laboratory cat could be made to twitch its whiskers by direct stimulation of the ________ lobes of its cerebral cortex.

A) temporal
B) occipital
C) frontal
D) parietal

Question 26

The sensory cortex is most critical for our sense of

A) sight.
B) hearing.
C) touch.
D) smell.

Question 27

Which lobes of the brain receive the input that enables you to feel someone scratching your back?

A) parietal
B) temporal
C) occipital
D) frontal

Question 28

The cerebral cortex is the covering layer of the

A) cerebellum.
B) corpus callosum.
C) thalamus.
D) cerebrum.

Question 29

The most extensive regions of the brain are involved in higher mental functions such as memory and reasoning. These regions are called the

A) sensory cortex.
B) motor cortex.
C) corpus callosum.
D) association areas.

Question 30

The surgical removal of a large tumor from Dane's occipital lobe resulted in extensive loss of brain tissue. Dane is most likely to suffer some loss of

A) muscular coordination.
B) visual perception.
C) speaking ability.
D) pain sensations.

Question 31

Three-year-old Marco suffered damage to the speech area of the brain's left hemisphere when he fell from a swing. Research suggests that

A) he may never speak again.
B) his motor abilities may improve so that he can easily use sign language.
C) his right hemisphere may take over much of the language function.
D) his earlier experience with speech may enable him to continue speaking.

Question 32

Which of the following body parts is associated with the greatest amount of brain tissue in the sensory cortex?

A) toes
B) knees
C) neck
D) lips

Question 33

Your conscious awareness of your own name and self-identity depends primarily on the normal functioning of your

A) cerebellum.
B) temporal lobes.
C) occipital lobes.
D) cerebral cortex.

Question 34

The auditory hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia are most closely linked with the activation of areas in their

A) motor cortex.
B) parietal lobes.
C) temporal lobes.
D) association areas.

Question 35

The association areas are located in

A) the temporal lobes.
B) the occipital lobes.
C) the parietal lobes.
D) all four lobes.

Question 36

In a clinical trial of a brain-computer interface with paralyzed humans, a 25-year-old man constructed shapes on a computer screen by activating neurons in his

A) sensory cortex.
B) parietal lobes.
C) motor cortex.
D) occipital lobes.

Question 37

Which part of your brain receives information that you are moving your legs?

A) association areas
B) motor cortex
C) sensory cortex
D) parietal lobes

Question 38

Which of the following body parts is associated with the greatest amount of brain tissue in the motor cortex?

A) arms
B) face
C) trunk
D) knees

Question 39

Auditory stimulation is first processed in the ________ lobes.

A) occipital
B) temporal
C) frontal
D) parietal

Question 40

Following a nail gun wound to his head, Jack became more uninhibited, irritable, dishonest, and profane. It is likely that his personality change was the result of injury to his

A) parietal lobe.
B) temporal lobe.
C) occipital lobe.
D) frontal lobe.

Question 41

The corpus callosum is a wide band of axon fibers that

A) enables the left hemisphere to control the right side of the body.
B) transmits information between the cerebral hemispheres.
C) controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs.
D) transfers neural impulses from the CNS to the PNS.

Question 42

Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce

A) Alzheimer's disease.
B) epileptic seizures.
C) neural plasticity.
D) Parkinson's disease.

Question 43

After he suffered a stroke, Mr. Santore's physical coordination skills and responsiveness to sensory stimulation quickly returned to normal. Unfortunately, however, he could no longer figure out how to find his way around his neighborhood. It is most likely that Mr. Santore suffered damage to his

A) cerebellum.
B) sensory cortex.
C) occipital cortex.
D) association areas.

Question 44

The localization of a function such as speech production to either the right or the left hemisphere of the brain is called

A) neurogenesis.
B) lateralization.
C) hemispherectomy.
D) plasticity.

Question 45

A person whose hand had been amputated actually felt sensations on his nonexistent fingers when his arm was stroked. This best illustrates the consequences of

A) hemispherectomy.
B) brain plasticity.
C) lateralization.
D) cognitive neural prosthetics.

Question 46

Those whose corpus callosum is surgically severed are said to be patients with

A) brain plasticity.
B) lateralization.
C) neurogenesis.
D) split brains.

Question 47

The classic case of railroad worker Phineas Gage best illustrated that frontal lobe damage can

A) prevent plasticity.
B) enhance moral reasoning skills.
C) alter one's personality.
D) facilitate neurogenesis.

Question 48

People's moral judgments are most likely to seem unrestrained by normal emotions if they have suffered damage to their

A) cerebellum.
B) sensory cortex.
C) corpus callosum.
D) frontal cortex.

Question 49

Mathematical and reasoning capacities are especially likely to be linked with association areas in the

A) parietal lobes.
B) temporal lobes.
C) occipital lobes.
D) frontal lobes.

Question 50

The inability to recognize familiar faces even though one can clearly see and describe features of the faces is associated with damage to the ________ lobes.

A) frontal
B) parietal
C) occipital
D) temporal

Question 51

The benefits of brain plasticity are most clearly demonstrated in

A) children who have had a cerebral hemisphere surgically removed.
B) people paralyzed by a severed spinal cord.
C) individuals with Alzheimer's disease.
D) split-brain patients.

Question 52

The process of forming new neurons within the brain is called

A) lateralization.
B) hemispherectomy.
C) neurogenesis.
D) plasticity.

Question 53

By restraining the use of his left hand, doctors helped Bruce to use and improve the coordination skills of his right hand. The doctors employed a technique known as

A) cognitive neural prosthetics.
B) hemispherectomy.
C) lateralization.
D) constraint-induced therapy.

Question 54

The visual cortex is activated when blind people read Braille. This best illustrates

A) plasticity.
B) cognitive neural prosthetics.
C) hemispherectomy.
D) the split brain.

Question 55

Brain plasticity may contribute to the effectiveness of

A) neurogenesis.
B) electroencephalograms.
C) constraint-induced therapy.
D) cognitive neural prosthetics.

Question 56

The process of anticipating that you will be punished for misbehaving takes place in the

A) sensory cortex.
B) corpus callosum.
C) association areas.
D) split brain.

Question 57

Optic nerves transmit information from the ________ visual field of ________ to the left cerebral hemisphere.

A) left; only the left eye
B) right; only the right eye
C) left; only the right eye
D) right; both the right and left eyes

Question 58

The ability to simultaneously copy different figures with the right and left hand is most characteristic of those whose ________ has been cut.

A) cerebellum
B) temporal lobe
C) corpus callosum
D) motor cortex

Question 59

The capacity of a brain area to reorganize in response to damage is known as brain

A) lateralization.
B) cognitive neural prosthetics.
C) hemispherectomy.
D) plasticity.

Question 60

Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere is most likely to reduce people's ability to

A) solve arithmetic problems.
B) copy drawings.
C) recognize faces.
D) recognize familiar melodies.

Question 61

Compared with right-handers, left-handers are

A) more likely to experience migraine headaches and less likely to suffer from allergies.
B) less likely to experience migraine headaches and more likely to suffer from allergies.
C) more likely to experience migraine headaches and more likely to suffer from allergies.
D) less likely to experience migraine headaches and less likely to suffer from allergies.

Question 62

Deaf people who use sign language typically

A) demonstrate greater mathematical competence than hearing persons.
B) process language in their left cerebral hemisphere.
C) have better communication skills than hearing persons.
D) have a smaller corpus callosum than hearing persons.

Question 63

Describe how an understanding of both a normally functioning brain and a split brain enables us to better appreciate the fact that most information processing takes place outside of conscious awareness.

Question 64

When a person speaks, brain waves and bloodflow are especially likely to reveal increased activity in the

A) thalamus.
B) left hemisphere.
C) cerebellum.
D) right hemisphere.

Question 65

People who suffer partial paralysis will sometimes obstinately claim they can move a paralyzed limb if they have suffered damage to the

A) right cerebral hemisphere.
B) corpus callosum.
C) left cerebral hemisphere.
D) frontal lobe.

Question 66

After suffering a head injury in an auto accident, Alyssa says that she remembers what her mother looks like, and she can accurately recall many of her mother's distinctive facial features. However, when she is shown pictures of her mother, Alyssa is unable to recognize who it is, even though she can see clearly. Use your understanding of the functioning brain to account for Alyssa's strange pattern of experience.

Question 67

Left-handedness is ________ common than usual among mathematicians and ________ common than usual among artists.

A) less; more
B) less; less
C) more; less
D) more; more

Question 68

Left handedness is ________ common among males than females, and in both right- and left-handers the left hemisphere tends to be slightly ________ than the right hemisphere.

A) less; smaller
B) less; larger
C) more; smaller
D) more; larger

Question 69

In Roger Sperry's view, the brain creates and controls the mind, which in turn influences the brain. Sperry understands the mind and brain as a

A) cognitive neural prosthetic.
B) holistic system.
C) reward center.
D) complex machine.