Deck 16: Neuropsychology

Question 1

The notion that specific psychological functions can be affected by damage to specific areas of the brain is called

A)neuroplasticity.
B)bilateral neglect.
C)localization of function.
D)hemiparesis.

Answer 1

localization of function.

Question 2

Despite the popular view of his time, Franz Gall, an anatomist, asserted that the brain operated based on __________. Though his claim was actually correct, Gall was virtually dismissed because of his approach to understanding personality, known as __________.

A)neural networks; ego analysis
B)localization of function; ego analysis
C)neural networks; phrenology
D)localization of function; phrenology

Answer 2

localization of function; phrenology

Question 3

Laural is a neuropsychologist who works at a university. She conducts assessments on patients who have brain damage. Her work will allow scientists to better understand performance deficits that occur in relation to specific brain damage. Laural is most likely a(n)__________ neuropsychologist.

A)experimental
B)human factors
C)community
D)clinical

Answer 3

experimental

Question 4

Ruth works in a hospital. She meets with patients who have experienced strokes or traumatic brain injuries. Often Ruth will run a test battery to determine the psychological damage that has been sustained. Ruth must be a(n)__________ neuropsychologist.

A)social
B)experimental
C)clinical
D)forensic

Question 5

Jessica has recently graduated and found a job as a clinical neuropsychologist. In this career field, she

A)is primarily a research scientist.
B)must have a medical degree (M.D.)to practice.
C)mainly examines people with emotional disorders.
D)will most likely work in a hospital or health care setting.

Question 6

Which of the following is a main assumption of the field of neuropsychology?

A)Different psychological processes are controlled by the same few brain regions.
B)Behavior is motivated primarily by biological sources.
C)Complicated mental tasks involve subtasks that can be studied separately.
D)Only healthy, fully functioning brains can provide insight into psychological processes.

Question 7

David is a researcher who studies brain injuries to improve the overall knowledge of brain functioning. Keith works in a health care facility testing patients individually to determine the kind of brain injuries they have sustained. David is a(n)________ neuropsychologist, and Keith is a(n)________ neuropsychologist.

A)clinical; clinical
B)experimental; experimental
C)experimental; clinical
D)clinical; experimental

Question 8

As part of his research, Maxwell works on the assumption that different psychological processes are controlled by different brain regions or by different combinations of brain regions. He is operating under one of the main assumptions of the field of

A)industrial and organizational psychology.
B)psychoneuroimmunology.
C)neuropsychology.
D)developmental psychology.

Question 9

Franz Gall made several assertions about brain areas and their functioning. Gall assumed all of the following except that

A)brain areas were organized into networks that control specific functions.
B)particular brain areas controlled particular aspects of mental life.
C)brain areas got bigger as people used them.
D)each brain area was associated with a certain personality trait.

Question 10

"I love my job. I get to perform exciting research on people who have brain damage. I hope that my work can help other professionals to properly assess, diagnose, and treat people who sustain such damage." These are most likely the words of a(n)

A)cognitive behavioral psychologist.
B)experimental neuropsychologist.
C)biopsychosocial psychologist.
D)clinical neuropsychologist.

Question 11

Visual agnosia, which is an interference of a person's ability to recognize familiar objects, can occur when parts of the ________ lobes on both sides of the brain fail to work properly.

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

Question 12

Which statement best reflects the idea of localization of function?

A)Bumps on the head do not reflect a person's psychological traits.
B)Strokes can cause deficits very suddenly.
C)Patients with Wernicke's aphasia can sound like schizophrenics.
D)Brain damage limited to the left parietal lobe (but not the left frontal lobe)causes ideomotor apraxia.

Question 13

Slick's head has a bump on the back and in the right. Gaston has an indentation in his head on the front and in the right. When Antoinette feels their heads and notes these features, she concludes that Slick is very socially outgoing and that Gaston is very mathematically inclined. Antoinette most likely supports the principles

A)advocated by Paul Broca.
B)of phrenology.
C)established by lesion analysis in aphasia.
D)of separation between the "what" and "where" pathways.

Question 14

Next semester, you are enrolling in a course called Neuropsychology. This class will involve the study of the relationship between

A)heredity and environment.
B)brain processes, behavior, and psychological functioning.
C)neurotransmitters and hormones.
D)personality, biology, and environment.

Question 15

Ellis has recently suffered from a cerebral infarct, which has left him with a number of physiological and cognitive deficits. The more common name for this medical event is a(n)________.

A)heart attack.
B)stroke.
C)aneurysm.
D)hemorrhage.

Question 16

Deena is a psychologist who studies the relationships among brain processes, human behavior, and psychological functioning. Deena must be a

A)neuropsychologist.
B)forensic psychologist.
C)health psychologist.
D)human factors psychologist.

Question 17

Your friend Boyan tells you all about the great job he recently found. "I work at the hospital, but I'm not a physician. Rather, I work with the physicians to assess people who have sustained brain damage. Together, we figure out what has been impaired and how to treat the patients." Boyan is a(n)__________ neuropsychologist.

A)clinical
B)experimental
C)occupational
D)health care

Question 18

Leona recently graduated and found a job as an experimental neuropsychologist. In this career field, she will do all of the following except

A)conduct research on how the human brain controls and organizes separate parts of complicated mental activities.
B)work with physicians to test patients for brain damage.
C)work with people who have undergone some sort of brain damage.
D)research people with normal brains.

Question 19

Bonnie is an experimental neuropsychologist and Clyde is a clinical neuropsychologist. Most likely, Bonnie works in a __________ and Clyde works in a __________.

A)community center; assessment center
B)assessment center; community center
C)hospital; research lab
D)research lab; hospital

Question 20

Broca's findings in localization of function caused a surge of interest in brain research because

A)he offered correlations of specific behaviors and brain lesions seen on autopsy.
B)he was the first to posit the idea of localization of function.
C)he reintroduced the study of phrenology to the scientific community.
D)his work revealed that lesion analysis was an ineffective method of research.

Question 21

Freddy suffered from a speech disorder for many years. After he died, the doctor performed an autopsy and found an area of damage in his brain that explained the occurrence of his disorder. This damage is referred to as

A)a syndrome.
B)a lesion.
C)a tangle.
D)anomia.

Question 22

Gino experiences alexia without agraphia, meaning that he cannot read but is still able to write. His experience with this syndrome demonstrates how __________ can operate but not communicate with one another.

A)modules
B)the "what" pathways
C)the "where" pathways
D)nodes

Question 23

Federico sustains brain damage during a car accident. Based on his symptoms, his doctor is concerned that the modules in his brain are not interacting properly. The doctor believes Federico is exhibiting

A)disconnection syndrome.
B)delirium.
C)lesion aphasia.
D)a neurodegenerative disease.

Question 24

A clinical neuropsychologist is meeting with a patient who has sustained brain damage. To ascertain what functions are working properly and what functions are not, the neuropsychologist will likely

A)conduct a case study of the patient.
B)first administer a standard test battery and administer additional tests as necessary.
C)perform a lesion analysis.
D)send the patient to an assessment center before further individualized tests are conducted.

Question 25

Lewis typically administers a neuropsychological assessment that is uniquely tailored to each of his patients. Lewis does this because tailored assessments

A)provide a standardized analysis of all aspects of psychological functioning.
B)are the easiest assessments performed by clinical neuropsychologists.
C)focus more on a patient's specific problems.
D)have strongly established norms.

Question 26

Agatha works on a research team that investigates damaged brain functions. Agatha is a(n)__________ neuropsychologist who is likely to conduct __________ as part of her work.

A)clinical; lobotomies
B)clinical; lesion analyses
C)experimental; lobotomies
D)experimental; lesion analyses

Question 27

A neuropsychologist may perform a lesion analysis to determine what brain functions have been damaged. More specifically, the neuropsychologist will attempt to discover what abilities in a complex mental task have become

A)reversed.
B)dissociated.
C)internalized.
D)externalized.

Question 28

Isam is a neuropsychologist studying localization of function. His work on brain modules is based on the understanding that

A)brain functions are accomplished by a network of modules.
B)each module operates within a particular brain region.
C)each module directly controls a particular brain function.
D)networks of modules operate via a spreading activation pattern.

Question 29

Which of the following techniques can be used to temporarily "shut off" a part of the brain so that experts can examine the resulting effects?

A)vagus nerve stimulation
B)bilateral encephalography
C)electroconvulsive shocks
D)transcranial magnetic stimulation

Question 30

Disconnection syndrome occurs when various modules in a network __________ but are prevented from __________.

A)are damaged; interacting
B)are damaged; firing
C)remain intact; interacting
D)remain intact; firing

Question 31

Nadia studies patients who have trouble speaking after damage to the left frontal lobe. Nadia is trying to determine how functions are impaired by damage in this area. Nadia will likely perform

A)lesion analysis.
B)objective personality tests.
C)RAS scans.
D)the Korsakoff battery.

Question 32

In her position at the hospital, Bea administers neuropsychological assessments to the patients she meets. These assessments

A)assess a wide range of mental functions.
B)create a phrenological map of a patient's brain.
C)focus on the coping skills of patients with brain damage.
D)identify a person's ego identity.

Question 33

A neuropsychologist wants to determine what specific psychological functions are affected by damage to a specific brain area in a group of patients. The neuropsychologist will likely perform

A)phrenological exam.
B)prefrontal lobotomy.
C)lesion analysis.
D)hemiparesis.

Question 34

Kunita has recently received damage to the corpus callosum and the left occipital lobe of her brain. This damage will most likely cause

A)Wernicke's aphasia.
B)anosognosia.
C)alexia without agraphia.
D)prosopagnosia.

Question 35

Lesion analysis is an important process for neuropsychologists because

A)they can remove tissue damaged from a stroke.
B)it helps determine what function has been damaged.
C)they can limit the damage caused by neurodegenerative disease.
D)it can support the principles of phrenology.

Question 36

Sam wants to learn more about disconnection syndromes. While at the bookstore, he sees several interesting titles but isn't sure which book to buy. Based on your knowledge from class, you recommend

A)"Coping with Memory Loss."
B)"Impaired Consciousness."
C)"Widespread Damage to the Cerebral Cortex."
D)"Interaction Failure of Brain Modules."

Question 37

Testing various areas of a patient's functioning-including intelligence, memory, reading, and other cognitive and sensory skills - in order to locate problems in the brain responsible for various symptoms is called ________ assessment.

A)neuropsychological
B)psychophysiological
C)idiographic
D)functional applied

Question 38

Sangiovese has had a stroke. He now has the inability to read, even though he can still write with difficulty. You can predict that he has developed

A)alexia without agraphia.
B)prosopagnosia.
C)apraxia.
D)aprosodia.

Question 39

Neuropsychological assessments must be interpreted with caution because

A)most assessments have only moderate overall validity.
B)there are fewer potential confounding variables.
C)scores must be compared with previously determined averages.
D)norms have not been established for most assessments.

Question 40

Miko is writing a paper on standardized neuropsychological assessments, but she cannot come up with a title for the paper. All of the following options seem like accurate titles except

A)"A Predetermined Set of Tests."
B)"Tailored Analysis for Each Situation."
C)"Averages Are for Suckers: Each Patient is Different."
D)"The Same Test for Many Patients."

Question 41

The Halstead-Reitan Battery, the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychology Battery, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test are all examples of

A)standardized tests.
B)uniquely tailored assessments.
C)projective measures.
D)validation studies.

Question 42

Gavin has recently sustained a traumatic brain injury. This kind of injury occurs when an impact to the head causes the nerve fibers in the brain to

A)lose cerebrospinal fluid.
B)stretch and tear because of violent movement.
C)deteriorate due to a loss of oxygen and blood.
D)shut down certain cortices as an internal failsafe.

Question 43

Becca is a person who likes to conduct research. She enjoys mentoring students and is always searching for new ways to understand human behavior. She does not, however, have an interest in working in a health care setting. As Becca looks into graduate programs, she should consider those that prepare her to be a(n)__________ neuropsychologist.

A)clinical
B)social
C)industrial and organizational
D)experimental

Question 44

Hank has a brain problem that has gradually developed during the past three years. Hank most likely

A)has a neurodegenerative disease.
B)sustained traumatic brain injury.
C)had a cerebrovascular accident.
D)suffers from delirium.

Question 45

Lola educates her community about the dangers of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). She believes her work is especially important because

A)CVA victims may not be immediately aware that anything is wrong.
B)CVAs usually affect brain areas far from the point of origin.
C)the gradual process of cell damage in the brain may go unnoticed for years.
D)it is impossible for patients to recover brain functions damaged by a CVA.

Question 46

As a clinical neuropsychologist, Umberto often administers many different neuropsychological assessments for each patient. He does this for all of the following reasons except to

A)establish an overall pattern.
B)assess different areas of psychological functioning.
C)measure individual functions separately.
D)increase interrater reliability.

Question 47

A condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy was previously called dementia pugilistica because it was most commonly associated with the sport of

A)football.
B)boxing.
C)wrestling.
D)archery.

Question 48

Bailey suddenly developed a neurological problem after a blood vessel to the brain became blocked. Bailey has

A)a neurodegenerative disease.
B)had a cerebrovascular accident.
C)sustained traumatic brain injury.
D)epilepsy.

Question 49

Traumatic brain injury is particularly damaging because the brain is not firmly attached to the skull. Rather, it floats in a bath of __________. Therefore, head trauma causes the brain to move, which can __________.

A)pleural fluid; rupture the blood-brain barrier
B)pleural fluid; tear nerve fibers
C)cerebrospinal fluid; rupture the blood-brain barrier
D)cerebrospinal fluid; tear nerve fibers

Question 50

After an assessment, Dr. Find diagnoses her patient Lily as having a disorder of language and communication. According to the textbook, this is a kind of

A)aphasia.
B)neuropsychological disorder.
C)localization of dysfunction.
D)neurodegenerative disease.

Question 51

Bethany is learning about disconnection syndrome. Though she's seen the word syndrome many times, she never really knew what it meant. After reading more, she now understands that it refers to

A)a reduction in or loss of consciousness.
B)an illness with either few or very mild consequences.
C)a pattern of symptoms.
D)damage to a specific brain region.

Question 52

After Kenny survived a freak ping-pong accident, his friends assured him that he would make a full recovery. However, Kenny's recovery is not certain because a traumatic brain injury

A)involves irreversible brain damage due to loss of blood supply.
B)can cause widespread damage and involve many aspects of functioning.
C)is a type of neurodegenerative disease that is still not completely understood.
D)causes a thiamine deficiency that eventually kills healthy brain cells.

Question 53

Hannah is collecting pamphlets on various neuropsychological disorders. If she finds the four following pamphlets, she can immediately rule out which of the following as not being a neuropsychological disorder?

A)Amnestic Disorders
B)Perceptual Disturbances
C)Dementia
D)Personality Disorders

Question 54

Neuropsychological assessments that are uniquely tailored to a patient are helpful because they

A)help to establish norms.
B)have been carefully validated.
C)are compared with established averages to determine deviant or unusual scores.
D)can pinpoint the specific problems the patient is most likely to have.

Question 55

Clinical neuropsychologists work in medical facilities, where they can

A)conduct their own research and testing.
B)perform brain surgeries on patients.
C)create neuropsychological assessments that establish norms.
D)work with physicians who focus on the treatment of brain disorders.

Question 56

When assessing and diagnosing patients, Hilary looks for the pattern of symptoms associated with their injury or disease. In other words, Hilary is investigating whether or not a(n)_________ is present.

A)psychopathology
B)syndrome
C)anomia
D)lesion

Question 57

Aparna works in a hospital. She administers neuropsychological assessments to patients that may have brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases. In her assessments, she is most likely to begin by administering __________ and then following up with __________ as relevant to each patient.

A)psychoactive drugs; psychotherapy
B)psychotherapy; psychoactive drugs
C)a standard battery of tests; a set of uniquely tailored assessments
D)a set of uniquely tailored assessments; a standard battery of tests

Question 58

Chris is hit in the head by a misguided lawn dart. Chris may have suffered brain damage due to

A)neurodegenerative disease.
B)a cerebrovascular accident.
C)a traumatic brain injury.
D)hemiparesis.

Question 59

Alexander has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. This neurodegenerative disease gradually affects Alexander's functions by

A)disrupting his "where" neural pathways.
B)cutting off the blood supply to parts of his brain.
C)disabling entire modules in the neural network.
D)stopping certain brain cells from working properly.

Question 60

All of the following factors affect the likelihood that a person will recover after a cerebrovascular accident (CVA)except

A)the quality and speed of treatment.
B)how much force was involved in the head injury.
C)the health of the remaining blood vessels and brain tissue.
D)the kind of rehabilitation the patient seeks after the CVA occurs.

Question 61

Yasuo has damaged his reticular formation. He is most likely to develop

A)alexia without agraphia.
B)phonemic but not semantic paraphasias.
C)mild cognitive impairment.
D)a persistent vegetative state.

Question 62

H.M. lived with anterograde amnesia. Given the description of his condition in the textbook, what would have been the hardest thing for patient H.M. to do?

A)Form memories of new experiences
B)Recognize that he has a memory problem
C)Speak fluently
D)Recall details of his childhood

Question 63

If Orville was diagnosed with anterograde amnesia, you know this condition could be caused by all of the following except

A)damage to the hippocampus.
B)infections.
C)damage to the medial temporal lobe
D)disruption to the reticular formation.

Question 64

Amnestic disorders all share the common feature of

A)confabulations.
B)neurodegeneration.
C)anomia.
D)memory loss.

Question 65

Those who suffer from Korsakoff's Syndrome sometimes create false memories that they are absolutely certain are real. This process, called ________, can lead to confusion and difficulty in social interactions.

A)retrograde amnesia
B)apraxia of language
C)echolalia
D)confabulation

Question 66

After a car accident, Astor is in a coma and Cody is in a persistent vegetative state. If the same brain area was implicated in each of their situations, it would most likely be the

A)hippocampus.
B)reticular formation.
C)cerebellum.
D)thalamus.

Question 67

Bert cannot form new memories, but he is able to accurately recall his childhood memories from before his stroke. Ernie cannot form new memories and often recalls memories that did not happen. Based on this information, it appears that Bert has __________, and Ernie has __________.

A)anterograde amnesia; Korsakoff's syndrome
B)Korsakoff's syndrome; anterograde amnesia
C)ideational apraxia; ideomotor apraxia
D)ideomotor apraxia; ideational apraxia

Question 68

The part of the brain that has been the focus of studies on disturbances of consciousness is

A)Broca's area.
B)the hindbrain.
C)Wernicke's area.
D)the reticular formation.

Question 69

Beverly has been diagnosed with Korsakoff's syndrome. This has likely been caused by __________, which depletes the medial dorsal thalamus of __________.

A)a cerebrovascular accident; thiamine
B)a cerebrovascular accident; norepinephrine
C)alcoholism; thiamine
D)alcoholism; norepinephrine

Question 70

Marta is prone to a condition known as confabulation. That means that Marta

A)ignores everything in the left side of space relative to her body position.
B)unknowingly creates false memories.
C)cannot understand spoken language or produce sensible speech.
D)experiences periods of abnormally impaired or elevated levels of consciousness.

Question 71

Anterograde amnesia is often caused by damage to the __________, whereas Korsakoff's syndrome is caused by damaged to the __________.

A)hippocampus; reticular formation
B)hippocampus; thalamus
C)hypothalamus; reticular formation
D)hypothalamus; thalamus

Question 72

After a brain surgery in 1950 to stop epileptic seizures, Barbara was no longer able to form new memories. Now, 50 years later, if you were to ask Barbara what she thinks about the Internet, she would

A)be able to write her thoughts but not verbalize them.
B)be able to verbalize her thoughts but not write them.
C)speak haltingly in short sentences.
D)not understand what the word Internet meant.

Question 73

Kevin learns that his ex-girlfriend, Brittany, has been diagnosed with delirium. Unfamiliar with this disorder, he visits a medical website and learns that delirium is commonly caused by __________, and the effects tend to be __________.

A)a genetic disorder; temporary
B)infections in the blood; temporary
C)a genetic disorder; permanent
D)infections in the blood; permanent

Question 74

You are required to find and critique a movie that portrays a neuropsychological disorder. You are looking for a movie in which a person's ability to be fully aware of the world around him is impaired. In other words, you are looking for a movie that portrays a(n)

A)amnestic disruption.
B)consciousness disturbance.
C)language disruption.
D)perceptual disturbance.

Question 75

Ryan cannot recall a list of words that was read to him sixty minutes ago. Even when he is given multiple choices to choose from or clues about each word, he cannot recall the words. Most likely, Ryan's memory problem is caused by damage to what brain area?

A)Corpus callosum
B)Reticular formation
C)Broca's area
D)Hippocampus

Question 76

Noreen experiences both anterograde amnesia and confabulations. These are key symptoms that indicate Noreen suffers from

A)Huntington's disease.
B)Korsakoff's psychosis.
C)reticular formation disruption.
D)prosopagnosia.

Question 77

Lyle, an amnesic patient, thinks that he has met you before. "I remember you because of your red hat. And I was your boss at the mayor's office in Cleveland. I was the mayor then, you know. We had many dinners together, and you used to order the Delmonico steaks with onion rings on top." Lyle firmly believes these things are true, yet none of them really happened. Lyle has damaged the __________ of his brain.

A)hippocampus
B)medial dorsal thalamus
C)corpus callosum
D)Wernicke's area

Question 78

When Karla sees her doctor, she tells him the tale of how they met in high school. Even though the story is false, Karla believes it is true. She also cannot form new memories. Karla probably

A)has Broca's aphasia.
B)has a headache.
C)has a history of alcoholism.
D)suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

Question 79

In cases in which consciousness is impaired due to widespread damage to both sides of the cerebral cortex, which of the following could explain these symptoms?

A)A tumor
B)Genetic abnormalities
C)A cerebrovascular accident
D)An infection that has spread to the blood

Question 80

For the past two days, Gertruda has been hallucinating. She alternates between being overattentive to every little sight and sound in the room and being a bit sleepy and less alert. She cannot maintain a coherent conversation because she seems to forget everything very quickly, and she uses nonsensical words. Gertruda has

A)delirium.
B)dementia.
C)a dissociation syndrome.
D)Huntington's disease.