Question 1

Action-outcome decisions involve a more ________ form of processing, whereas stimulus-response decisions are more ________.

Accepted Answer

Action-outcome decisions involve controlled processing which requires effortful and deliberate consideration of potential outcomes of different actions. In contrast, stimulus-response decisions are made automatically without conscious awareness or effort.

Question 2

Neuroimaging experiments have demonstrated that working memory engages the

Accepted Answer

Neuroimaging studies have shown that working memory heavily involves the prefrontal cortex, but it also involves more posterior areas of the brain related to perception and mental representation, such as the parietal cortex and occipital cortex. The anterior cingulate is also activated during working memory tasks, but not to a larger degree than other cortical areas. Therefore, answer C, which includes both the prefrontal cortex and posterior brain areas, is the best choice.

Question 3

Imagine that a frontal lobe patient meets a very good friend and his family doctor. Which of the two would this patient be able to engage more easily in a short conversation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine that a frontal lobe patient meets...

Question 4

People with frontal lobe injuries and control participants were asked to figure out a way to clean a floor when there are no towels. Which of the following statements would be associated with frontal lobe patients and not controls?

Accepted Answer

Option B is an inappropriate and socially unacceptable response, which is associated with poor judgment and impulsivity, both of which are common symptoms of frontal lobe damage. Controls and individuals without frontal lobe injury are more likely to choose option D, as it is a practical and logical solution to the problem. The other options (A and C) are neither inappropriate nor pragmatic, so they do not serve as distinctive indicators of frontal lobe dysfunction.

Question 5

The idea that the prefrontal cortex filters out and inhibits irrelevant information is supported by the ERP findings of Knight and Grabowecky (1995), who found that patients with prefrontal lesions produced ________ in response to ignored tones during a listening task.

Accepted Answer

Knight and Grabowecky (1995) found that patients with prefrontal lesions produced larger evoked potentials in response to ignored tones during a listening task, which supports the idea that the prefrontal cortex filters out and inhibits irrelevant information.

Question 6

With which of the following is prediction error NOT correlated?

Accepted Answer

Prediction error is not correlated with the unconditioned stimulus because the unconditioned stimulus is a fixed and well-defined outcome that does not require prediction. Prediction error refers to the difference between expected and received outcomes that arise during learning and decision-making processes. Changes in dopamine activity and updating of valuation of information and learning are both related to prediction error because they affect the brain's response to unexpected outcomes.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a gradient along which the prefrontal cortex is organized?

Accepted Answer

The prefrontal cortex is organized along the anterior-posterior, ventral-dorsal, and lateral-medial gradients, but not the left-right gradient.

Question 8

Thompson-Schill and colleagues (1997, 1998) conducted an experiment in which participants generated an appropriate verb in response to a presented noun. They found that the processing of nouns such as rope, which have many semantically associated verbs, elicited ________ activity in the inferior frontal cortex than did nouns such as scissors, which do not. This result supports the ________ hypothesis of inferior frontal lobe function.

Accepted Answer

The experiment found that the processing of nouns with many semantically associated verbs (like "rope") elicited greater activity in the inferior frontal cortex than nouns with fewer associated verbs (like "scissors"). This supports the hypothesis that the inferior frontal cortex is involved in selecting the appropriate word from a set of related options, rather than simply retrieving a word from memory. Therefore, the correct answer is (B) greater selection.

Question 9

Which of the following findings, if true, would best argue in favor of the parallel processing model of multi-tasking, as opposed to the task-switching model?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following findings, if true,...

Question 10

A person who has difficulty with "recency memory" tasks would have the most difficulty with which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Recency memory refers to the ability to remember the most recent information or events. Entering ingredients for a recipe in the correct order would be challenging for someone with difficulty in recency memory, as it requires recalling the sequence of steps or items most recently learned or read.

Question 11

While the ________ will be most active during the encoding of a face stimulus, the ________ will be active during the delay period.

Accepted Answer

According to research on face recognition and working memory, the fusiform gyrus is most active during the encoding of a face stimulus, while the prefrontal cortex is active during the delay period. Therefore, option B is the correct answer. Option A and C are incorrect as they both list structures involved in emotional and attentional processes rather than face recognition and working memory. Option D is also incorrect as the hippocampus is involved in long-term memory processes rather than working memory.

Question 12

________ theories describe what people ought to do, whereas ________ theories describe what people actually do.

Accepted Answer

Normative theories prescribe a certain behavior or action as desirable, while descriptive theories describe the existing behavior or action of people. Therefore, option A is the correct choice. The other options do not accurately represent the difference between normative and descriptive theories.

Question 13

An experiment that requires participants to respond based on one goal, such as naming digits, on some trials and another goal, such as naming letters, on other trials is an example of a(n) ________ paradigm.

Accepted Answer

The experiment described involves switching between tasks, which is characteristic of a task-switching paradigm. The other options (A, C, and D) do not accurately describe the experiment in question.

Question 14

You conduct a single-cell recording study of a lateral prefrontal cortical cell while an animal performs a delayed-response task. Which of the following response profiles best matches the behavior of the cell if it is primarily involved in working memory function? (Each vertical line represents an action potential.)

Accepted Answer

The answer of You conduct a single-cell recording study of...

Question 15

In the task-switching experiment involving a digit task and a letter task, a digit or letter response was indicated by a word or by a color. Which of these conditions was particularly problematic when switching between digits and letters for frontal lobe patients?

Accepted Answer

Frontal lobe patients typically have difficulties with inhibitory control and switching between tasks. Using a different response cue (color) for the digit task than for the letter task may be particularly problematic because it requires a greater degree of inhibitory control to switch between the different response cues.

Question 16

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex involves ________ valuation, whereas dorsolateral prefrontal cortex involves more ________ valuation.

Accepted Answer

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is involved in automatic valuation, processing emotions and risk, and making quick, instinctive decisions. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, on the other hand, is involved in controlled valuation, managing more complex, rational decision-making processes that require planning and controlling impulses.

Question 17

Which patient group is most likely to be impaired on a task in which one must decide which of two pictures was seen most recently?

Accepted Answer

The frontal lobes are responsible for executive functions such as working memory and decision making. Patients with frontal lobe damage are known to experience deficits in working memory, which could affect their ability to determine which picture was seen most recently.

Question 18

Primary reinforcers involve ________, whereas secondary reinforcers do not.

Accepted Answer

Primary reinforcers are biologically important and have survival value, such as food or water. Secondary reinforcers, on the other hand, are learned or acquired through association with primary reinforcers, and do not have inherent survival value.

Question 19

You encounter a bear, which triggers an emotional response. Which of the following areas would not show increased dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway?

Accepted Answer

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is not directly involved in the mesolimbic pathway, which is responsible for the emotional arousal triggered by encountering a bear. Therefore, it would not show increased dopamine levels in this situation. The amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex are all part of the mesolimbic pathway and would show increased dopamine levels.

Question 20

One conceptualization of the prefrontal cortex, offered by Shimamura (2000), which could explain the seemingly disparate set of impairments associated with damage to this area, is that

Accepted Answer

Shimamura's conceptualization suggests that the prefrontal cortex is responsible for selecting the information that is most relevant to the task at hand, which could explain the wide range of impairments associated with damage to this area.

Quiz 12: Cognitive Control

Action-outcome decisions involve a more form of processing, whereas stimulus-response decisions are more .