Deck 23: Extension: A - Brain Development and Plasticity

Question 1

The main changes in the visual system following monocular deprivation in kittens are seen at the level of the:

A) visual cortex.
B) lateral geniculate.
C) retina.
D) synapses.

Answer 1

visual cortex.

Question 2

In humans, synaptic density is greatest at about age:

A) 2 months.
B) 12 months.
C) 6 years.
D) 16 years.

Answer 2

12 months.

Question 3

Early damage to the medial temporal area is MOST likely to be noticed in:

A) math abilities.
B) social behaviors.
C) visual agnosias.
D) language deficits.

Answer 3

social behaviors.

Question 4

Migrating neuroblasts are guided by:

A) electrical gradients.
B) radial glial cells.
C) internal maps.
D) neurogenesis.

Question 5

The major language areas in the brain are located in the:

A) right hemisphere.
B) left hemisphere.
C) cerebellum.
D) hippocampus.

Question 6

The concept that sparing of function follows infant brain lesions is known as the:

A) Hubel and Wiesel law.
B) Kennard principle.
C) Basser hypothesis.
D) Flechsig concept.

Question 7

Myelination of the human cortex continues until about _____ years of age.

A) 6
B) 10
C) 12
D) 18

Question 8

Some cortical areas are myelinated as early as age:

A) 3 months.
B) 18 months.
C) 3 years.
D) 6 years.

Question 9

Hubel and Wiesel sewed a kitten's eye shut for a time. After the eye was allowed to open again it:

A) was essentially blind.
B) had improved visual acuity.
C) showed no change.
D) led to abnormal cell activation.

Question 10

Exposure to an enriched environment increases brain size. This size increase is related to each of these EXCEPT:

A) the density of glial cells.
B) the density of dendritic spines.
C) the size of synapses.
D) decreases in the length of pyramidal-cell dendrites.

Question 11

Neuroimaging studies of children with childhood - onset schizophrenia show a _____ in cortical gray volume.

A) 10 percent decrease
B) 30 percent decrease
C) 10 percent increase
D) 30 percent increase

Question 12

Dendrite growth differs from axonal growth in that:

A) axons grow much faster than dendrites in order to play a role in shaping dendritic growth.
B) axons grow much faster than dendrites in order to reach a larger maximum size.
C) dendrites grow much faster than axons in order to play a role in shaping axonal growth.
D) dendrites grow much faster than axons in order to reach a larger maximum size.

Question 13

According to Epstein, the human brain exhibits several growth spurts. The last of these occurs at about age:

A) 2 to 4 years.
B) 10 to 12 years.
C) 14 to 16 years.
D) 18 to 20 years.

Question 14

Which of the following would appear earliest in the developmental sequence?

A) synaptogenesis
B) migration
C) differentiation
D) functional validation

Question 15

In terms of escaping with minimal effects of brain damage on language, the BEST age to incur the damage would be:

A) before 1 year of age.
B) between 1 and 5 years of age.
C) between 6 and 10 years of age.
D) after 10 years of age.

Question 16

The two events that take place in the development of a dendrite are _____ and the growth of dendritic spines.

A) synaptic pruning
B) atheosis
C) arborization
D) myelogenesis

Question 17

In adults, aphasia develops about _____ percent of the time with right - hemisphere damage.

A) 8
B) 20
C) 3
D) 10

Question 18

Some behavioral abilities do not emerge until adolescence because:

A) society restricts what adolescents can do.
B) the fully developed brain is acted upon by sex hormones.
C) the human brain continues to develop well past adolescence.
D) adolescence culminates with the development of the neural tube.

Question 19

The number of synapses in the human cerebral cortex is approximately:

A) 10⁸.
B) 10¹⁰.
C) 10¹².
D) 10¹⁴.

Question 20

A study of Romanian orphans showed that infants adopted at 18 months or older tended to have IQs that were _____ points lower than average.

A) 2
B) 5
C) 15
D) 25

Question 21

Kolb and colleagues demonstrated that tactile stimulation following lesions of the frontal cortex resulted in which of the following?

A) increased synaptogenesis
B) decreased synaptogenesis
C) increased synaptic pruning
D) decreased synaptic pruning