Question 1

Dougherty et al. (2003) used brain imaging to investigate cortical magnification. Their primary finding was that _________.

Accepted Answer

Dougherty et al. (2003) found that information presented to the fovea activated the most brain area, indicating the presence of cortical magnification.

Question 2

In Ungerleider and Mishkin's (1982) research, monkeys who had had their temporal lobes removed had difficulty

Accepted Answer

Ungerleider and Mishkin's research found that monkeys who had had their temporal lobes removed had difficulty discriminating between objects, suggesting that the temporal lobes are involved in object recognition and discrimination.

Question 3

The ventral pathway has also been labeled the _________ pathway.

Accepted Answer

The ventral pathway is often referred to as the "what" pathway because it is involved in object recognition and identification.

Question 4

A large object, such as a tree trunk, will cause

Accepted Answer

A large object, such as a tree trunk, will activate a group of neurons that have receptive fields covering different areas of the object. These neurons are located in different ocular dominance columns and likely have different preferred orientations. Therefore, firing will occur in a number of different columns, not just one.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a type of column in the striate cortex?

Accepted Answer

Location, ocular dominance, and orientation are all types of columns found in the striate cortex, whereas double dissociative is not a recognized type of column.

Question 6

The dorsal pathway goes to the _______ lobe.

Accepted Answer

The dorsal pathway, also known as the "where" pathway, is responsible for spatial perception and processing of object location and motion. It goes from the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe.

Question 7

When looking at a scene, the different sections of the scene are processed by many different location columns. Through the use of all of the location columns, the entire scene can be perceived. This effect is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The effect described in the question is referred to as tiling, which is the process by which different parts of an image are processed by different location columns in the visual cortex. Fielding and convergence are not related to this specific process, and while orientation is important in visual processing, it does not fully explain the process of perceiving an entire scene through the use of location columns.

Question 8

Ablation is a procedure in which

Accepted Answer

Ablation involves the removal or destruction of a particular area of the brain, often used in research to investigate the function of specific regions. Options A, B, and D refer to other methods of studying brain activity but are not specifically related to ablation.

Question 9

The cortical magnification factor occurs in humans because

Accepted Answer

The cortical magnification factor occurs because the small area of the fovea (which has the highest visual acuity) accounts for a disproportionately large area on the cortex. This is due to the fact that there are many more neurons in the visual system dedicated to processing information from the fovea compared to other parts of the retina.

Question 10

The brain imaging technique involving injecting a radioactive tracer into the blood is

Accepted Answer

Injecting a radioactive tracer into the blood is a characteristic of PET scans, so the correct answer is D. FMRI involves detecting changes in blood oxygen levels in the brain, ablation and lesioning refer to the removal or destruction of brain tissue, respectively.

Question 11

Object discrimination problem: ____ :: Landmark discrimination problem :_____.

Accepted Answer

The object discrimination problem is associated with the temporal lobes, while the landmark discrimination problem is associated with the parietal lobes.

Question 12

Zghsx#8j, a visitor from another planet, is curious about cars. She takes the battery out of the car, and finds out that the car won't start and the lights and stereo don't work. Her "research" is most closely related to the method called

Accepted Answer

Ablation means selectively removing or destroying a part of a biological or artificial system in order to study its function. In this case, Zghsx#8j removed the battery from the car to study its function and found out that the car wouldn't start and the lights and stereo don't work. Therefore, her "research" is most closely related to the method called ablation.

Question 13

A/An ________ is a location column that receives information about all possible orientations within a given area of the retina.

Accepted Answer

The term "hypercolumn" refers to a column in the visual cortex that contains information about all possible orientations within a given area of the retina. This includes information about color, motion, and other visual features. The hypercolumn is an important unit of visual processing and plays a key role in the perception and recognition of visual stimuli.

Question 14

An electrode is placed in an orientation column that responds best to orientations of 45 degrees. The adjacent column of cells will probably best respond to orientations of

Accepted Answer

Adjacent columns in the visual cortex typically respond to orientations that are slightly shifted from one another. This shift is known as the "orientation tuning curve." Therefore, the column adjacent to the one that responds best to 45 degrees would likely respond best to orientations that are close to, but not exactly, 45 degrees. Option B, which is 40 degrees, is the closest answer to this.

Question 15

Which of the following is true regarding the organization of columns in the cortex?

Accepted Answer

The organization of columns in the cortex is hierarchical. A location column can contain multiple orientation columns, but each orientation column is typically devoted to a single orientation preference. Action columns are not specific to location or orientation but are related to the motor functions controlled by the cortex.

Question 16

Neurons respond preferentially to the right eye or the left eye. This phenomenon is referred to as

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is specifically referred to as "ocular dominance."

Question 17

The ________ can be described as the electronic map of the retina on the cortex.

Accepted Answer

The term "retinotopic map" refers specifically to the electronic map of the retina on the cortex. The other options may be related to visual or spatial mapping, but do not specifically address the retinotopic organization of the visual system.

Question 18

The retinotopic map on the LGN has been determined by recording from neurons in the ______ .

Accepted Answer

The retinotopic map on the LGN (Lateral Geniculate Nucleus) is determined by recording from neurons within the LGN itself, as it is the structure that processes visual information from the retina.

Question 19

The arrangement of ocular dominance columns in the cortex is best described as

Accepted Answer

Ocular dominance columns are organized in hypercolumns in the visual cortex, with each hypercolumn containing columns for both the left and right eyes.

Question 20

________ is a brain imaging technique that tracks blood flow in the brain using magnetic fields. This tracking is possible because hemoglobin has magnetic properties.

Accepted Answer

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) tracks blood flow in the brain using magnetic fields, and this tracking is possible because hemoglobin has magnetic properties. This technique provides a non-invasive way to measure brain activity and has become a widely used imaging tool in both research and clinical settings. The other choices, ablation and ERP, are not imaging techniques, and PET scan (positron emission tomography) tracks blood flow using radioactive glucose instead of magnetic fields.

Quiz 4: Cortical Organization