Cog Psych Chapter 2

Connell, age 32, was in a bad motorcycle accident. He was airlifted to a tertiary care facility and when his family arrived, they were informed that it was likely Connell was brain dead. To determine whether Connell is, in fact, brain dead, his doctors must determine that his ____ has been damaged so severely that various reflexes of the head (e.g., the pupillary reflex) are absent for more than 12 hours.

brainstem

Physicians make a determination of brain death based in part on the lack of activity of the

brainstem

Based on extensive research, Karl Lashley concluded that localization of specific memories ____.

cannot be demonstrated

Which part of the hindbrain is responsible for coordination, balance, and muscle tone and also includes memory related to procedural movements?

cerebellum

The forebrain includes the ____.

cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, the limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus

Although the midbrain is not as important in mammals as in nonmammals, it is significant in that it houses the reticular activating system, which is essential in regulating ____.

consciousness, heartbeat, and breathing

Most motor information transmission is ____.

contralateral

Suppose there are two radio stations, one receiving signals from the western hemisphere and one receiving signals from the eastern hemisphere. A cable connects the two stations so that signals sent out from one half of the world can be transmitted to the other half. This cable is analogous to the brain's ____.

corpus callosum

What percentage of the adult population has language functions predominantly localized in the left hemisphere of the brain?

90

Which of the following is NOT an in vivo technique for viewing the structures and functions of the brain?

dissecting the brain to locate possible lesions

Which neurotransmitter is most associated with attention, reward and reinforcement, learning, and motivational processes?

dopamine

Which technique to study the living brain is based on examining the recording of the electrical frequencies and intensities of the brain over time?

eeg

The limbic system is important to ____

emotion, motivation, and learning

Which neuroimaging technique is able to look at increases in oxygen use to produce an image of the working brain?

fMRI

When the amygdala is stimulated, what reactions are likely to result?

fearful hallucinations, frightening flashbacks in memory

The cerebral cortex is often referred to as ____, whereas the myelinated nerve fibers of the brain's interior are often called ____.

gray matter; white matter

The two halves of the brain, which rely on the corpus callosum for communication, are called _____.

hemispheres

Which type of stroke is due to a blood vessel in the brain suddenly breaking and filling the surrounding tissue with blood, causing cells to die?

hemorrhagic stroke

The frontal lobe is responsible for ____.

higher thought processes and motor processing

Jennifer has damage to a certain area of her brain. She can remember people and events from long ago, but she cannot remember where she ate lunch today. Judging by her symptoms, Jennifer may have damage to the ____.

hippocampus

Kent is a chronic alcoholic and is homeless. As a result of both his chronic heavy alcohol use and his dietary deficiencies, Kent's ____ has deteriorated and he is experiencing memory problems.

hippocampus

The ____ plays a critical role in the formation of new memories.

hippocampus

Which part of the brain is responsible for regulating behavior that is important for the survival of the organism and regulating emotions and reactions to stress?

hypothalamus

Which type of stroke occurs when fatty tissue that has built up over years breaks free and then becomes lodged in an artery in the brain?

ischemic stroke

The cerebral hemispheres and cortex can be divided into four parts, called ____, that are largely arbitrary anatomical regions divided by fissures.

lobes

The approach to studying the brain in order to understand what specific part of the brain controls what specific skills or behaviors is called ____.

localization of function

The ____, located in the hindbrain, is responsible for controlling the heartbeat, and to some extent, breathing, swallowing, and digestion.

medulla oblongata

What type of technique takes advantage of the brain's consumption of glucose or oxygen and specifically looks for which part of the brain is most active during more generalized processing?

metabolic techniques

Three types of chemical substances appear to be involved in neurotransmission: ____.

monoamine neurotransmitters, amino-acid neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides

Dysfunction of the basal ganglia is known to cause ____.

motor deficits

The basal ganglia of the forebrain are crucial to ____.

motor function

Another name for a tumor is ____.

neoplasm

Cells called ____ transmit information throughout the nervous system.

neurons

Which technique for studying cognition temporarily disrupts normal activity of the brain in a very small area by placing a coil on the person's head and passing a current through it?

TMS

The chemical messengers of the nervous system are called ____.

neurotransmitters

Which disorder is caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain and often results in noticeable loss in cognitive functioning?

Vascular Disorder

Tom puts his hand on a warm stove burner and senses the heat coming from the stove. The message of warmth travels from his hand to which lobe of the brain?

parietal

Joe is walking around a room completely in the dark. He cannot see anything. When he feels the doorknob with his hand, he pulls the door open. What location in the brain most directly enabled him to accomplish what he attempted?

parietal lobe

Which part of the hindbrain contains neural fibers that pass signals from one part of the brain to another and thus serves as a relay station?

pons

In which technique do researchers document the behaviors of individuals thought to have brain damage and then, after the person dies, examine the brain for lesions?

postmortem studies

Tan, a patient of Broca's who had severe speech problems, was capable of uttering only one syllable "Tan" (hence the name). After Tan's death, examination of his brain revealed a number of lesions in the frontal lobe. It was ascertained from this that parts of the frontal lobe are important for speech production. Gathering knowledge from someone about brain function after death with known difficulties is an example of ____.

postmortem studies

The cerebral cortex is ____.

a one- to three-millimeter-thick layer that covers the surface of the brain

All of the following are part of the limbic system EXCEPT the ____.

primary motor cortex

Which part of the brain, located in the frontal lobe, is important for controlling movement?

primary motor cortex

The parietal lobe contains the ____, which is involved in experiencing pressure, texture, temperature, and pain.

primary somatosensory cortex

Disruption in the hippocampus does NOT seem to result in deficits in ____ memory.

procedural

Sonia lays in a hospital bed and cannot be awakened. Scans of her brain show damage to the ____, which is important for regulating overall level of consciousness.

reticular activating system

When viewing a picture that is half one person's face and half another person's face, a split brain patient would most likely ____.

say the image portrays the whole face of whomever is depicted on the right side

The ____ and ____ both play a role in anger.

septum; amygdala

Which neurotransmitter is important for regulating impulsivity and is associated with eating behavior as well as aggressive behavior?

serotonin

The parietal lobe is primarily responsible for ____.

somatosensory processing

Which techniques for studying the brain obtain a still image that can help with revealing the structures of the brain?

static techniques

The convolutions of the cerebral cortex comprise ____, which are small grooves; ____, which are raised areas or bulges; and ____, which are large grooves

sulci, gyri, fissures

What is the junction between terminal buttons of one neuron with the dendrites of other neurons called?

synapse

Mary wakes up in the middle of the night to hear a loud thump coming from the stairway. She then hears creaking and a voice whispering. Her ____ lobe makes it possible for her to hear the sounds.

temporal

At the end of the branches of an axon are the ____, which look like small knobs.

terminal buttons

Which area of the brain is known to sort information and send it to appropriate areas in the cerebral cortex?

thalamus

Which abilities have been found to be localized on the right side of the brain for most split-brain patients?

the ability to follow stories

Paul Broca believed that ____.

the left hemisphere of the brain is critical to normal speech function

Split-brain patients sometimes have difficulty reconciling information that is ____ and thus largely localized in the left hemisphere with information that is ____ and thus generally localized in the right hemisphere.

verbal; spatial

____ is well known for his work with split-brain patients.

Gazzaniga

Although the brain makes up only one fortieth of the total weight of the adult human body, it uses ____ of the circulating blood, available oxygen, and available glucose.

1/5

Which of the following processes would most likely involve the limbic system?

Bill is walking home at night and is startled by a runner.

____ refers to transmission of information to the opposite side, whereas ____ refers to transmission to the same side.

Contralateral; ipsilateral

Derrick has a number of electrodes attached to his head. He is probably about to participate in a study involving use of ____.

ERPs

Damage to the hippocampus can result in loss of memory function in which old information can be recalled but new memories cannot be formed. One form of hippocampal damage is called ____.

Korsakoff's syndrome

Which technique involves measuring brain activity through detection of magnetic fields by placing a device over the head?

MEG

Which static imaging technique uses a strong magnetic field to analyze magnetic changes in the energy of the orbits of nuclear particles in the molecules of the body?

MRI

Which of the following would most likely involve the septum?

Mike is frightened by a man pointing a knife at him.

The main functions of the temporal and occipital lobes, respectively, are ____.

auditory processing and visual processing

Which type of metabolic imaging technique uses a radioactive form of oxygen that emits positrons as it is metabolized to look at the physiological functioning of the brain in action?

PET

Which patient has symptoms consistent with damage to the medulla oblongata?

The patient who experiences heartbeat irregularity and breathing problems

Some individuals experience closed-head injuries in combat or in accidents. What characterizes a closed-head injury?

The skull has not been penetrated but there is damage to the brain.

Which of the following would most likely involve the use of the frontal lobe?

Tia considers how to use an oddly designed nutcracker to crack a nut.

Which part of the left hemisphere of the brain appears to contribute to language comprehension?

Wernicke's area

Which of the following would most likely involve activity in the amygdala?

Wilma is frightened when the horse she is riding rears up.

Adrian has Alzheimer's and has a difficult time with his memory. The doctors say that his memory difficulties are associated with low levels of ____.

acetylcholine

The corpus callosum serves to ____.

allow transmission of information between the left and right hemispheres

French physician Marc Dax noticed a relationship between the loss of speech and the side of the brain in which damage had occurred in patients suffering from ____.

aphasia

Juan has a disorder affecting his ability to perform skilled movements. Juan most likely has

apraxia