Deck 15: Evolution of the Brain and Language Tc L1

Question 1

The "typical" human brain has a volume of __________.

A) 500cc
B) 380cc
C) 1500cc
D) 1350cc

Answer 1

1350cc

Question 2

Ultimately, our complex social behavior can be attributed to __________.

A) tool use
B) language
C) bipedalism
D) the fact that we are mammals

Answer 2

language

Question 3

The cerebral cortex is mostly made up of __________.

A) bones and ligaments
B) fatty tissue
C) dendrites
D) cell bodies of neurons

Answer 3

cell bodies of neurons

Question 4

Some researchers link our increased brain size to a decrease in the size of the __________.

A) leg
B) brain case
C) gastro-intestinal tract
D) all of these

Question 5

The cerebellum is important in the control of __________.

A) digestion
B) breathing
C) voluntary movements
D) sleep

Question 6

Which of the following has a higher cranial capacity?

A) gorillas
B) H. habilis
C) H. sapiens
D) Neandertals

Question 7

The work of Professor Paul Broca is important because it demonstrated the localization of function on the human brain.

Question 8

Which of the following is not true of the cerebrum?

A) the cerebrum is crisscrossed with a series of sulci
B) the cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres
C) the cerebrum has undergone the least obvious changes over the course of human evolution
D) the cerebrum's outer surface is know as the cerebral cortex

Question 9

Research indicates that Australopithecines and Paranthropines were more encephalized than the great apes.

Question 10

Neurons can have many axons but only one dendrite.

Question 11

In almost all primate species, females have larger brains than males.

Question 12

Females in most primate species have larger __________ than males.

A) EQ
B) brains
C) bodies
D) all of these

Question 13

An animal with a larger than expected brain will have an EQ of __________.

A) less than .001
B) less than 0.01
C) 100
D) more than 1.00

Question 14

Why is it hard to study the evolution of brain (re)organization?

A) brain organization does not fossilize well
B) we do not know the ways brain reorganizations occur
C) endocasts tell us nothing about brain organization
D) there are no living animals to which to compare hominin brains

Question 15

Encephalization quotient is a measure of __________.

A) brain weight
B) brain size in inches
C) the ratio of actual brain size to the expected size
D) the weight of the brain divided by the brain's size in inches

Question 16

Compared to the brains of our closest relatives, the human brain __________.

A) is made of different types of cells
B) is smaller
C) has differences in its functional organization
D) has a completely different organization

Question 17

Which of the following has a higher EQ?

A) H. habilis
B) Australopithecines
C) H. erectus
D) gorillas

Question 18

The intelligence of a creature is determined only by brain size.

Question 19

Humans use only 10% of their brains.

Question 20

Modern humans exhibit a decline in brain size compared with Neadertals.

Question 21

Much of what makes human behavior more complex than the behavior of other animals depends on our possession of __________.

A) spoken language
B) a calcarine sulcus
C) sociality
D) a frontal lobe

Question 22

To say that language is grammatical is to say that __________.

A) language is spoken
B) words are assembled from small sound elements
C) the words we use have meaning
D) there is no limit to the number of ways words can be strung together

Question 23

To say that language is semantic is to say that __________.

A) language is spoken
B) words are assembled from small sound elements
C) the words we use have meaning
D) there is no limit to the number of ways words can be strung together

Question 24

Which of the following may be a function of the frontal lobe?

A) sleep
B) involuntary muscle movements
C) emotion
D) none of these

Question 25

In most people's brains, the language centers appear __________.

A) on the right hemisphere
B) in the occipital lobe
C) in the motor cortex
D) on the left hemisphere

Question 26

When we look at a large number of mammal species, the anatomical organizations of their brains are remarkably uniform.

Question 27

Which of the following is not caused by a lesion in Wernicke's area?

A) disruption in the production of speech yet comprehension remains intact
B) fluent but nonsensical speech
C) substituting one word for another
D) incomprehensible strings of words

Question 28

The human visual cortex __________.

A) is smaller than we would expect for a primate brain its size
B) is located in the occipital lobe
C) is about 1.5 times larger than the visual cortex of a gorilla
D) all of these

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a critical aspect of human language?

A) language is spoken
B) language is instinctual
C) language is grammatical
D) language is phonemic

Question 30

Studies of child language acquisition indicate __________.

A) that children are not genetically specialized to learn language
B) that language is not at all instinctual
C) the presence of a "mental grammar"
D) little evidence for the existence of deep structure

Question 31

Damage to the right hemisphere may result in an inability to perform or comprehend __________.

A) speech in general
B) certain words
C) sentences
D) prosody

Question 32

To say that language is phonemic is to say that __________.

A) language is spoken
B) words are assembled from small sound elements
C) the words we use have meaning
D) there is no limit to the number of ways words can be strung together

Question 33

We are anatomically specialized both to produce language and process language-oriented sounds.

Question 34

All languages have a grammar.

Question 35

It is widely agreed that the Australopithecus africanus lunate sulcus is in a very "human" position.

Question 36

__________ are grammatical languages that have developed in a situation of ongoing linguistic instability.

A) Creoles
B) Pidgins
C) Deep structures
D) Aphasia

Question 37

Research suggests that the modern human prefrontal region of the frontal lobe __________

A) is non-existent
B) is less important than it is for other primates
C) is larger than we would expect given the size of the human brain
D) has less gray matter than the rest of the cortex

Question 38

The human brain accounts for about 2% of the body mass but uses about __________% of the total energy and oxygen consumed by the body.

A) 10-15
B) 16-20
C) 18-30
D) 50-74

Question 39

Anthropoids have olfactory bulbs that are __________ for their overall brain size.

A) of the expected size
B) small
C) large
D) none of these

Question 40

__________ are simplified, non-grammatical communication systems.

A) Creoles
B) Pidgins
C) Deep structures
D) Aphasia

Question 41

Citing specific examples, explain the three ways in which brain reorganization can occur.

Question 42

Researches argue that the flexion of the basicranium is an anatomical marker of __________.

A) tongue position
B) larynx position
C) pharynx position
D) motor cortex function

Question 43

People with amusia have perfect pitch.

Question 44

Kanzi and other signing apes teach us that __________.

A) great apes are naturally in possession of some basic linguistic skills
B) comprehension exceeds production in apes
C) learning situation is critical in language acquisition
D) all of these

Question 45

How might we sturdy the existence of speech in the fossil record? What evidence is there from endocasts? What evidence is there from other anatomical features?

Question 46

Terence Deacon links the development of symbolic communication to __________.

A) pair bonding
B) paternity-certainty
C) sexual exclusivity
D) all of these

Question 47

Gottfried Schlaug has found that the __________ is bigger in musicians who began musical training before the age of 7 years as compared to those who started at a later age.

A) corpus callosum
B) frontal lobe
C) hyoid bone
D) Wernicke's area

Question 48

William Calvin speculates that language developed __________.

A) along with throwing behavior
B) as a replacement for grooming
C) in order to maintain exclusive sexual relations
D) initially as sign language

Question 49

The rearrangement of throat anatomy for language purposes has __________.

A) improved breathing overall
B) introduced new risks in everyday life
C) had no effect on other throat functions
D) improved our ability to swallow hard foods

Question 50

The position of the Neandertal possibly indicates speech.

A) basiocranial flexion
B) Wernicke's area
C) hyoid bone
D) prefrontal lobe

Question 51

Attempts to teach apes to speak have failed miserably.

Question 52

Explain encephalization and the encephalization quotient. In what was is EQ a measure of intelligence. In what ways is it not?

Question 53

Modern human throat anatomy are associated with a great risk of choking.

Question 54

Primatologist Robin Dunbar posits that language may have evolved to replace __________ in large hominin societies.

A) conflict
B) sex
C) throwing
D) grooming

Question 55

Which of the following describes the signing ability of the gorilla Washoe?

A) Washoe was unable to use signs to communicate
B) Washoe demonstrated the linguistic skill of a two-year-old human
C) Washoe signed fluently much like a human adult
D) Washoe signed to her handlers but never to other apes

Question 56

Endocasts may reveal asymmetries in __________.

A) Broca's area
B) the occipital lobe
C) the frontal lobe
D) limbic system

Question 57

Outline brain evolution from the Australopithecines to Homo sapiens in terms of EQ and fossils. Were Neandertals more encephalized than modern humans?

Question 58

Define language. Outline and explain the "critical aspects" that make language a unique form of animal communication.

Question 59

Explain the differences between pidgins and creoles. What do creoles teach us about the existence of mental grammar?

Question 60

The differences between human and chimp supralaryngeal airway include __________.

A) a lower larynx
B) an expanded pharynx
C) a shortened tongue
D) all of these

Question 61

Citing examples, describe the linguistic abilities of great apes in captivity. What do these studies teach us about ape linguistic ability? What are the implications for the evolution of language in hominins?

Question 62

Explain why, from an evolutionary perspective, it is not likely that we use only 10% of our brains.

Question 63

Explain two of the more speculative explanations for the origins of language. What are some problems associated with these hypotheses?