Chapter 13.3: Making Decisions and Social Neuroscience

Question 1

During a perceptual decision, what happens in the frontal orienting fields?

Answer 1

Cells compare inputs from elsewhere to determine which side is ahead

Question 2

Can rats “think about the future”? And what is the evidence?

Answer 2

Yes. At a choice point, hippocampal place cells imagine possible routes

Question 3

In a value decision, how do responses by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex differ from those of the basal ganglia?

Answer 3

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex adjusts more rapidly to new information

Question 4

How would someone with prefrontal damage probably react on the Iowa Gambling Task?

Answer 4

Slow to switch from a poor strategy to a better strategy

Question 5

Which hypothesis best summarizes our current understanding about oxytocin?

Answer 5

Oxytocin increases attention toward social cues

Question 6

Which of the following helps explain why people with frontotemporal dementia fail to show empathy?

Answer 6

They are impaired at understanding emotional expressions