Chapter 2: The Neural Basis for Cognition
Phineas Gage (pictured here) was working as a construction foreman when some blasting powder misfired and launched an iron rod into his cheek and through his brain, resulting in severe personality and emotional problems. Which of his brain lobes was damaged in this accident?
Frontal lobe
Match each subcortical structure to its function.
controls behaviors that serve specific biological needs = hypothalamus relays nearly all sensory information to the cortex = thalamus essential for learning and memory function = hippocampus plays a key role in emotional processing = amygdala.
Identify whether an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) should be used to answer each question.
"Is there a brain tumor?" = MRI "Which region(s) are important for forming memories?" = fMRI "Is your amygdala more active when you listen to music that you like or that you don't like?" = fMRI "What shape is the hippocampus?" = MRI
Neuron A has received information from other neurons and now is communicating information to Neuron B. Place the steps of this synaptic transmission in order.
1. Neuron A receives neurotransmitters at its postsynaptic membrane. 2. Ionic flow across Neuron A's membranes surpasses its threshold. 3. Neuron A fires an action potential. 4. The action potential travels down Neuron A's axon. 5. Synaptic vesicles are stimulated in Neuron A's axon terminals. 6.Neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic gap. 7. Neuron B receives neurotransmitters at its postsynaptic membrane.
Agatha is thinking about calling up her best friend, Christie, to get coffee. What might be happening with the neurons in Agatha's brain when thinking about Christie? How might Christie be coded in her brain?
Agatha has a single neuron that fires in response to all of her friends, but the frequency differs based on the specific friend.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed structural changes in patients with Capgras syndrome to the circuits involving the___, an almond shaped structure that provided an emotional response to familiar faces. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has also revealed abnormal activity in the___, a neural area involved in keeping track of what is real and sensible.
Amygdala Prefrontal cortex
How much cortical space in the primary somatosensory projection area is each of the following body parts allocated? Order them from least to most amount of space.
Back, toes, fingers, face
Whenever a face is being perceived, the fusiform face area (FFA) is especially active. What can we conclude from this fact alone?
Can conclude: Activity in the FFA is correlated with the face perception. Not conclude: Activity in the FFA is necessary for face perception Activity in the FFA causes face perception Face perception can only occur in the FFA.
Information is carried back and forth between the two hemispheres by___, the largest of which is the___.
Commissures, corpus callosum
The amygdala plays a crucial role in which of the following functions?
Correct Answers: Detecting threatening stimuli Decision making Processing emotional memories Incorrect: Careful analysis Analyzing visual input
Identify the true and false statements about electroencephalography.
Correct: Changes in the EEG before, during and after an event are called event related potentials (ERP). The procedure is non invasive. Incorrect: Electroencephalography should be used to study brain activity in response to individual events. The procedure generators an electroencephalogram, a recording of the brains oxygen content.
Which of the following are functions of glia?
Correct: Chemical infusions Subtracting genetic material Magnetic pulses Mild electrical stimulation. Incorrect: Radioactive injections
Which of the following are functions of glia?
Correct: Control the flow of nutrients to neurons. Guide the developmental of the fetal nervous system Support repairs in the nervous system Incorrect: Communicate with the nuclei of neurons directly Represent different ideas with different patterns of activation across multiple glia.
Which of the following statements illustrate what we have learned about the brain from studying Capgras syndrome?
Correct: Many parts of the brain are needed for seemingly simple cognitive processes Emotional evaluation relies on neural processes distinct from those needed for factual evaluation. Incorrect: The amygdala plays a critical role in analyzing the visual input of a familiar face.
A neuron has received neurotransmitters at its postsynaptic membrane. What could happen now?
Correct: The threshold is not met, so no action potential is formed The neuron fires many action potentials over a short period of time Incorrect: A small action potential is fired because the threshold is just barely met, but it does not make it all the way to the axon terminals. The neuron fires some large action potentials and some small action potentials to convey different messages to the next neuron(s).
Which of the following statements characterize patients with Capgras syndrome?
Correct: They will recognize a person as looking almost identical to somewone they know but insist that individual is not that perosn. They will engange in bizarre reasojing to explain why a family member is not who they say they are. Incorrect: They will be unable to decide whether two phots are the same or different individuals. They will show a greater emotional response to pictures of family members than pictures of strangers.
Identify the best technique to use in each of the following described scenarios.
Dr. Andreson wants to know whether damage to the amygdala would cause different shopping behaviors = TMS Dr. Maison wants to know whether the fusiform face area responds to a pet's face in the same way as a family member's face = fMRI Dr. Kinder is studying the neural activity of face perception in infants =EEG Dr. Murphy is concerned that her patient may have a tumor on his thalamus = MRI Dr. Talbot is studying subliminal perception in TV advertising. He wants to know how quickly information can be presented and still be subconsciously detected by the viewer = EEG
Dr. Shawker is studying reflexes. He randomly stimulates his participant's limbs with a mild shock to time how long it takes the participant to flinch. If he stimulates a participant's left arm, information from the participant's skin will travel to the___ in the ___ hemisphere. The signal to the arm to flinch will leave the cortex from the___.
Primary sensory projection areas Right Primary motor projection areas
Is the described function more dependent on a motor area or a sensory area?
Pursing your lips = motor area. Watching the fireworks display = sensory area. Lifting your right leg = motor area. Hearing music playing in your headphones = sensory area. Feeling a tingle in your toes = sensory area.
Match the main structures of the brain to some of their key functions.
Regulates heartbeat rhythm = hindbrain Controls alertness = hindbrain Controls precise eye movements = midbrain Relays auditory info to the forebrain = midbrain Maintains balance = hindbrain
Each of the following individuals is experiencing a disorder that can result from damage to the association cortex. Identify the disorder that each patient is experiencing.
Since his stroke, Elias has only been shaving the left half of his beard and only reads the left half of words = unilateral neglect syndrome. Lydia can recognize her husband by his face but not by his voice = agnosia. Jerry was hit in the head with a baseball and is now having difficulty starting actions. = apraxia. Austin recently had a serious infection that led to difficulty producing fluent speech = aphasia
These fMRI images show different "slices" through the living brain, revealing levels of activity in different brain sites. Regions that are more active are shown in yellow, orange, and red. The first column shows brain activity while a person is making judgments about simple pictures. The second column shows brain activity while the person is making the same sort of judgments about "mental pictures," visualized before the "mind's eye." What do these images suggest about the processes of visualizing and actual vision?
These processes have a lot in common.
What is the function of the myelin sheath?
To increase the speed of action potential
Identify the true and false statements about brain lateralization.
True Statements: The left and right hemispheres differ somewhat in their specialize functions. There is a left and right version of the cerebral cortex. Incorrect: The corpus callosum is the only thing connecting the left and right hemispheres.
Which of the following statements are true of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)?
Uses magnetic pulses to activate neurons under specific regions of the scalp Creates temporary lesions to localize functions
Identify the hemisphere required for each activity. both hemispheres left hemisphere right hemisphere
feeling your sister pinch your right leg = left hemisphere listening to something out of your left ear = both hemispheres scratching your left leg with your left arm = right hemisphere raising your right arm = left hemisphere. Seeing out of your right eye = both hemispheres.
Identify each neuroimaging technique. (All items may not have a match.)
scans glucose tracers with radioactive tags to determine which tissues are active = PET scan measures oxygen content in blood flow through each brain region = fMRI scan provides a 3D X-ray image of the brain = CT scan detects magnetic properties of atoms in the brain tissue = MRI scan
Neurons generally have three major parts: the cell body, dendrites, and an axon. Match each part to its function.
the "input" side of a neuron that received signals from other neurons = dendrites the "output" side of a neuron that sends impulses to other neurons = axon contains the neuron's nucleus and elements needed for metabolic activities = cell body
