Bio 13 Flashcards
(17 cards)
How did split-brain patients initially experience conflicts between the two hemispheres?
A) The left and right hemispheres communicated efficiently, resulting in smooth cooperation.
B) One hemisphere took control over the entire body, preventing the other hemisphere from acting.
C) The hemispheres acted independently, causing behaviors like the hands “fighting” over tasks.
D) The hemispheres were disconnected but did not interfere with each other’s functions.
Answer: C) The hemispheres acted independently, causing behaviors like the hands “fighting” over tasks.
Explanation: After split-brain surgery, the hemispheres initially acted like separate entities, often competing for control over the body. This led to humorous and awkward situations, such as hands picking out different clothes or grabbing items simultaneously.
What does the concept of the “interpreter” proposed by Michael Gazzaniga refer to?
A) The brain’s ability to instantly explain sensory inputs.
B) The left hemisphere’s tendency to create explanations for behaviors without knowing the true cause.
C) The right hemisphere’s understanding of complex emotions.
D) A special brain function that allows two hemispheres to communicate directly.
Answer: B) The left hemisphere’s tendency to create explanations for behaviors without knowing the true cause.
Explanation: Gazzaniga’s “interpreter” refers to the left hemisphere’s propensity to invent plausible explanations for actions, even when the true causes are unconscious or unknown, as observed in split-brain patients.
Which hemisphere is typically more involved in understanding emotions and spatial relationships?
A) The left hemisphere.
B) The right hemisphere.
C) Both hemispheres equally.
D) The cerebellum.
Answer: B) The right hemisphere.
Explanation: The right hemisphere is more adept at understanding emotions and spatial relationships. It is particularly involved in tasks like interpreting emotional cues and understanding sarcasm or humor, which the left hemisphere struggles with.
What was a significant finding from the Wada procedure regarding the right hemisphere’s role in memory?
A) The right hemisphere is responsible for remembering facts and events.
B) The right hemisphere contributes to recalling emotions tied to personal memories.
C) The right hemisphere becomes more active when factual memories are recalled.
D) The right hemisphere is inactive when recalling emotional memories, leading to a lack of emotional recollection.
Answer: D) The right hemisphere is inactive when recalling emotional memories, leading to a lack of emotional recollection.
Explanation: The Wada procedure, where one hemisphere is temporarily anesthetized, showed that when the right hemisphere is inactive, individuals can recall factual events but cannot recall the associated emotions, highlighting the right hemisphere’s role in emotional memory.
Which of the following is true regarding the use of language in humans with Williams syndrome?
A) People with Williams syndrome have severe language deficits
B) People with Williams syndrome develop remarkable language skills despite other impairments
C) People with Williams syndrome can never speak fluently
D) People with Williams syndrome always struggle with grammarr
Answer: B) People with Williams syndrome develop remarkable language skills despite other impairments
Explanation: While individuals with Williams syndrome show impairments in areas like spatial perception and visuomotor skills, many have exceptional language abilities, often speaking fluently and grammatically, despite other challenges.
Which of the following is a characteristic feature of Broca’s aphasia?
a) Fluent speech with minimal effort
b) Difficulty in producing speech but meaningful communication
c) Inability to comprehend language
d) Difficulty in naming objects but fluent speech
Answer: b) Difficulty in producing speech but meaningful communication
Explanation: Individuals with Broca’s aphasia have difficulty in speech production, often speaking in short, fragmented sentences while still conveying meaningful communication. They omit function words and inflections, but their speech retains meaning.
What area of the brain is primarily associated with Broca’s aphasia?
a) Left temporal cortex
b) Left occipital cortex
c) Left frontal cortex (Broca’s area)
d) Right frontal cortex
Answer: c) Left frontal cortex (Broca’s area)
Explanation: Broca’s aphasia is linked to damage in the left frontal cortex, specifically Broca’s area, which is responsible for language production.
Which type of words are most commonly omitted by individuals with Broca’s aphasia?
a) Nouns and verbs
b) Prepositions, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs
c) Pronouns and adjectives
d) Proper nouns and adjectives
Answer: b) Prepositions, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs
Explanation: People with Broca’s aphasia tend to omit grammatical function words (prepositions, conjunctions) and auxiliary verbs, resulting in speech that lacks fluidity but retains basic meaning.
Why do individuals with Broca’s aphasia often have difficulty with sentence comprehension when complex grammar is involved?
a) They cannot understand basic nouns and verbs
b) They have difficulty interpreting function words like prepositions and word endings
c) They cannot understand the meaning of sentences
d) They cannot recognize any words at all
Answer: b) They have difficulty interpreting function words like prepositions and word endings
Explanation: Individuals with Broca’s aphasia struggle with understanding sentences that depend on grammatical structures such as prepositions and word endings, which they typically omit when speaking.
Which of the following is a potential cause of Broca’s aphasia in modern times?
a) Damage to the right hemisphere of the brain
b) Stroke or other neurological damage to the left frontal cortex and associated regions
c) Psychological trauma affecting speech
d) Damage to the cerebellum
Answer: b) Stroke or other neurological damage to the left frontal cortex and associated regions
Explanation: Broca’s aphasia is most commonly caused by stroke or other neurological damage to the left frontal cortex, including Broca’s area and surrounding structures.
What is a common compensatory strategy for people with Broca’s aphasia when communicating?
a) Using gestures or writing
b) Speaking rapidly to overcome pauses
c) Focusing on word endings and function words
d) Using complex grammar structures
Answer: a) Using gestures or writing
Explanation: People with Broca’s aphasia may use non-verbal strategies like gestures or writing to help communicate, as speech production is challenging for them.
What did Broca’s original research contribute to the field of neurology?
a) It provided the first demonstration of how the brain controls motor functions.
b) It showed that the right hemisphere is critical for language.
c) It demonstrated the role of the left hemisphere in language production.
d) It outlined the function of the hippocampus in memory.
Answer: c) It demonstrated the role of the left hemisphere in language production
Explanation: Broca’s research provided the first clear evidence that the left hemisphere, particularly the left frontal cortex, is crucial for language production.
What type of aphasia is characterized by fluent speech but poor comprehension and word-finding difficulties?
a) Broca’s aphasia
b) Wernicke’s aphasia
c) Global aphasia
d) Anomic aphasia
Answer: b) Wernicke’s aphasia
Explanation: Wernicke’s aphasia is characterized by fluent speech that lacks meaningful content, word-finding difficulties, and poor language comprehension, in contrast to Broca’s aphasia, which involves nonfluent, meaningful speech but poor grammatical structure.
According to the law of conservation of matter and energy, which of the following claims would most likely conflict with current scientific understanding?
a) Mental events exist but are not made of physical matter.
b) Brain activity is always accompanied by mental activity.
c) Physical energy can be transformed into mental phenomena.
d) Mental and physical states influence each other directly through neural processes.
Correct answer: a) Mental events exist but are not made of physical matter.
Explanation: The law of conservation of matter and energy asserts that neither matter nor energy can emerge from nothing. Therefore, the idea that mental events exist without physical basis contradicts this principle
What does “eliminative materialism” propose about the nature of mental events?
a) Mental events can be explained purely through brain activity.
b) Mental events don’t exist at all; they are simply misunderstandings of brain processes.
c) The mind is more powerful than physical processes in determining behavior.
d) Mental events are identical to brain activity and cannot be reduced to physical terms.
Correct answer: b) Mental events don’t exist at all; they are simply misunderstandings of brain processes.
Explanation: Eliminative materialism is the view that mental events, as traditionally understood, do not exist at all and that our folk psychology is mistaken about the nature of the mind.
What is the “hard problem” of consciousness, as defined by David Chalmers?
a) Understanding how different brain regions are involved in various conscious states.
b) Determining how consciousness is linked to specific sensory inputs.
c) Explaining why consciousness exists and why brain activity feels like something.
d) Understanding the neural mechanisms behind sleep and wakefulness.
Correct answer: c) Explaining why consciousness exists and why brain activity feels like something.
Explanation: Chalmers’ “hard problem” focuses on explaining why and how brain activity gives rise to subjective experience and why consciousness “feels like” something.
In the context of flash suppression, what is the main effect on conscious perception of a stimulus?
a) The stimulus is ignored entirely, causing a complete lack of perception.
b) The stimulus appears more intense and noticeable than usual.
c) The stimulus is perceived as less distinct or fades away due to strong competing stimuli.
d) The stimulus is processed unconsciously but does not affect behavior.
Correct answer: c) The stimulus is perceived as less distinct or fades away due to strong competing stimuli.
Explanation: Flash suppression demonstrates that a strong competing stimulus can cause a less intense or even transient disappearance of a stationary stimulus.
