Question 1

Research by Shamay-Tsoory and colleagues on criminals with antisocial personality disorder may have deficits in what area?

Accepted Answer

Research by Shamay-Tsoory and colleagues suggests that individuals with antisocial personality disorder may have deficits in understanding others' emotions, which can affect their social interactions and empathy.

Question 2

Split-brain research was made possible originally by surgical techniques done to limit the potential brain damage caused by epileptic seizures. This was accomplished by cutting the _________________.

Accepted Answer

The corpus callosum, a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain, was cut in split-brain surgeries to reduce the severity of epileptic seizures by limiting the spread of seizure activity between the hemispheres.

Question 3

The relatively greater localization of a brain function in one hemisphere or the other is called _____________.

Accepted Answer

Lateralization refers to the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be more dominant in one hemisphere than the other.

Question 4

Brain research has indicated that mathematical, verbal, and logical abilities tend to be located in the left hemisphere for most people. This is an example of what is technically called

Accepted Answer

Lateralization refers to the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be more dominant in one hemisphere of the brain than the other. The statement describes this concept by highlighting how certain abilities are predominantly located in the left hemisphere for most people.

Question 5

Sean is a split-brain patient who volunteers to demonstrate to Dr. Jones' psychology classes the effects of his condition. Dr. Jones controls whether objects are presented to either Sean's right or left visual field. When Dr. Jones presents an ordinary pencil to the right side of Sean's visual field, he is _________ due to the language-rich ________ hemisphere.

Accepted Answer

The right visual field is processed by the left hemisphere, which is responsible for language in most people. Therefore, when an object is presented to the right visual field, the left hemisphere can process it and enable verbal description.

Question 6

When Kimura, of the University of Western Ontario, presented stimuli like letters, words, faces, and music to research participants such that the stimuli arrived first in either the left or right hemisphere, she found that

Accepted Answer

Kimura's research demonstrated that hemispheric lateralization, the idea that different functions or processes are more dominant in one hemisphere of the brain than the other, can indeed be detected based on how stimuli like letters, words, faces, and music are processed differently depending on which hemisphere they first arrive in.

Question 7

Research by Daniel Levitin on the neuroscience of music has found that tempo and rhythm tend to be processed by which areas of the brain?

Accepted Answer

Daniel Levitin's research on the neuroscience of music has shown that tempo and rhythm are primarily processed in the cerebellum and the basal ganglia. These areas of the brain are key to coordinating movement and timing, which are essential for processing musical rhythm and tempo.

Question 8

Shamay-Tsoory and colleagues found that criminal offenders diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy were most likely patients with damage to the _________

Accepted Answer

Shamay-Tsoory and colleagues found that damage to the orbitofrontal cortex is associated with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy, as this area is involved in decision-making and impulse control.

Question 9

Research on emotion has found that positive emotions such as happiness tend to be located in the left hemisphere, while negative emotions such as anger and sadness are more associated with activity in the ___________.

Accepted Answer

Research on emotion has indicated that the right hemisphere of the brain is more involved in processing negative emotions such as anger and sadness, while the left hemisphere is associated with positive emotions like happiness.

Question 10

Drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine, and alcohol all stimulate the release of dopamine in the ______ of the limbic system.

Accepted Answer

Drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine, and alcohol stimulate the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens of the limbic system, which is a key region involved in the brain's reward circuitry and pleasure sensation.

Question 11

A man injures his head in a construction accident. After the incident, he shows a great deal of apathy towards people and things, is emotionally flat, and doesn't seem to care about anything. This person mostly likely suffered damage to his __________ cortex.

Accepted Answer

The frontal cortex is responsible for many functions including emotion regulation, problem-solving, memory, language, judgment, and sexual behaviors. Damage to this area can lead to changes in personality, such as apathy, emotional flatness, and a general lack of concern for oneself and others, which matches the symptoms described.

Question 12

The outermost layer of the brain and the crowning achievement of brain evolution is called the __________.

Accepted Answer

The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain, playing a key role in memory, attention, perception, cognition, awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is considered the most advanced part of the brain in terms of evolutionary development.

Question 13

The unique findings of split-brain research are primarily due to the fact that

Accepted Answer

Split-brain research findings are unique because they highlight how the brain's hemispheres process visual information from opposite visual fields. Neurons from each eye's right visual field project to the left hemisphere, and neurons from each eye's left visual field project to the right hemisphere, demonstrating the brain's contralateral processing.

Question 14

Jason suffered from severe epilepsy and had his corpus callosum cut to keep the seizures from spreading to both hemispheres of his brain. This procedure inhibits

Accepted Answer

Cutting the corpus callosum, a procedure known as a corpus callosotomy, primarily affects communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. This structure is the main bridge for neural signals crossing from one side to the other, so severing it disrupts this interhemispheric communication.

Question 15

Split-brain research is made possible because of the unique crossover wiring of the optic nerve that occurs at the optic chiasm, but the distinctive results of split-brain research will only occur with people who have had their ___________ cut.

Accepted Answer

The corpus callosum is a band of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Cutting it, a procedure known as callosotomy, is what leads to the distinctive results observed in split-brain research, as it prevents the two hemispheres from communicating directly with each other.

Question 16

It is the activation of axons going to the _______ that is important for reward and motivation.

Accepted Answer

The nucleus accumbens is a key region in the brain's reward circuit. Its activation is crucial for the experience of reward and the motivation to pursue rewards, playing a central role in the dopamine reward pathway.

Question 17

Adrian Raine and his colleagues argued that violent murders illustrate a failure in executive function, such as lack of judgment and impulse control. In support of this argument, using PET scans on a group of violent murderers who plead not guilty by reason of insanity, these researchers found reduced activity in the ________.

Accepted Answer

Adrian Raine's research found reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex of violent murderers, which is associated with executive functions like judgment and impulse control, supporting the argument that violent murders may illustrate a failure in these areas.

Question 18

The band of myelinated nerve fibres that connects the right and left brain hemispheres is called the

Accepted Answer

The corpus callosum is the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

Question 19

In most humans, language is localized

Accepted Answer

Language functions are primarily localized in the left hemisphere of the brain for most people, including both right-handed and a majority of left-handed individuals.

Question 20

Mental imagery, the ability to understand spatial relationships, and musical and artistic abilities tend to be located

Accepted Answer

These abilities are typically associated with the right hemisphere of the brain, which is known for its role in processing visual and spatial information, creativity, and artistry.

Quiz 3: Biological Foundations of Behaviour