Question 1

Which part of your brain is essential for receiving information that you are moving your legs?

Accepted Answer

The somatosensory cortex is the part of the brain that receives and processes sensory information, including information about movement and touch sensations in the legs. The corpus callosum is important for communication between the two hemispheres of the brain, the hippocampus is involved in memory and learning, and the temporal lobes are involved in auditory processing, language comprehension, and memory.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

The parietal lobes are responsible for processing somatosensory information, which includes touch, pressure, and proprioception (awareness of body position and movement). Therefore, the input from someone scratching your back would be processed in the parietal lobes.

Question 3

Impaired mathematical and spatial reasoning is especially likely to be linked with damage to association areas in the

Accepted Answer

Parietal lobes are primarily responsible for processing mathematical and spatial information, so damage to association areas within these lobes is likely to lead to impairments in these abilities. The other lobes are not as directly involved in mathematical and spatial reasoning.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

The lips have the most extensive cortical representation in the somatosensory cortex, with dedicated areas for different types of sensations such as texture, temperature, and pressure. This is due to their high sensitivity and importance for speech and eating.

Question 5

The capacity of a brain area to develop new neural pathways as it adjusts to damage is known as

Accepted Answer

The capacity of a brain area to develop new neural pathways as it adjusts to damage is known as plasticity.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

The temporal lobe is responsible for recognizing and processing visual information, including faces. Damage to the right temporal lobe can lead to a condition called prosopagnosia, which is the inability to recognize familiar faces despite being able to see and describe their features. Damage to the other lobes (frontal, parietal, occipital) is not typically associated with prosopagnosia.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

The auditory hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia are most closely linked with the activation of areas in their temporal lobes. The temporal lobes are involved in processing auditory information, so abnormalities in this area can lead to the perception of sounds that are not present in the environment.

Question 8

Falsely hearing a sound in the absence of any external stimulus is called

Accepted Answer

Falsely hearing a sound in the absence of any external stimulus is called a hallucination. A is incorrect because neurogenesis refers to the growth and development of new neurons. B is incorrect because split-brain condition refers to a surgical procedure where the corpus callosum, the band of nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain, is cut. D is incorrect because fMRI stands for functional magnetic resonance imaging, which is a brain imaging technique that uses magnetic fields to measure changes in blood flow in the brain.

Question 9

The somatosensory cortex is most critical for our sense of

Accepted Answer

The somatosensory cortex is responsible for processing information related to touch, such as pressure, temperature, and pain.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

The occipital lobe is responsible for visual processing, so the extensive loss of brain tissue from this area is likely to result in some loss of visual perception.

Question 11

People's moral judgments are most likely to seem unrestrained by normal emotions if they have experienced damage to their ______ lobes.

Accepted Answer

Damage to the frontal lobes, specifically the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, has been linked to difficulties with moral reasoning and decision-making. This area is important in integrating emotions with moral judgments, so damage may lead to a lack of emotional consideration in moral decision-making.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Damage to an association area, which integrates sensory information with memory and spatial navigation, can result in difficulty finding one's way around familiar environments, even if other neurological functions remain intact.

Question 13

Cecil Clayton was increasingly impulsive and violent,and scored lower on an intelligence test following damage to his left ________ lobe in a sawmill accident.

Accepted Answer

Damage to the frontal lobe can result in impaired decision-making, impulsivity, and increased aggression. This could explain Cecil Clayton's impulsive and violent behavior following his injury. The parietal lobe is mainly responsible for processing sensory information, the occipital lobe for processing visual information, and the temporal lobe for processing auditory information, making them less likely to be the correct answer in this case.

Question 14

The association areas are located in the

Accepted Answer

Association areas refer to the regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate information from multiple sensory modalities and from higher-order cognitive processes. The other options (brainstem, thalamus, hippocampus) are not typically associated with integration of sensory information or higher-order cognition.

Question 15

Knowing that you will be punished for breaking Mom's favorite dish is a function of the

Accepted Answer

The association areas of the brain are responsible for higher level thinking, including decision making and moral reasoning. Knowing that breaking Mom's favorite dish will result in punishment requires this higher level thinking, making it a function of the association areas. The somatosensory cortex is responsible for processing touch sensations, the corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain, and the motor cortex controls voluntary movements. None of these areas are directly involved in understanding the consequences of one's actions.

Question 16

The fact that the ability to interpret and integrate sensory information with stored memories is lost following damage to the ________ disconfirms the claim that we really only use 10 percent of our brain.

Accepted Answer

The association areas are responsible for integrating sensory information with stored memories to make sense of the world around us. Damage to this area can result in a loss of this ability, so it disproves the claim that we only use 10 percent of our brain. A, B, and C are not necessarily linked to this specific function.

Question 17

A false sensory experience that occurs in the absence of an external sensory stimulus is called

Accepted Answer

A hallucination is a false sensory experience that occurs in the absence of an external sensory stimulus.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

The case of Phineas Gage demonstrated that damage to the frontal lobe can result in a dramatic change in personality and behavior, indicating that this region of the brain is involved in regulating social and emotional behavior. Muscle spasms are not typically associated with frontal lobe damage, and while moral reasoning may be affected by this type of damage, it is not necessarily enhanced. Finally, neurogenesis - the growth of new neurons - is not typically associated with damage to the brain.

Question 19

Auditory stimulation is processed in the ________ lobes.

Accepted Answer

The temporal lobes are responsible for processing auditory stimulation, as well as language comprehension and memory.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

The largest regions of the brain involved in higher mental functions such as memory and reasoning are the association areas. The somatosensory cortex is responsible for processing touch and physical sensations, the hippocampus is primarily associated with memory formation and retrieval, and the corpus callosum is a structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Therefore, option D is the best choice.

Quiz 2: The Biology of Mind and Consciousness