3.8-3.13: Mapping the Brain

Question 1

Cognitive processes that allow us to plan, focus attention, and organize multiple tasks to complete our goals; associated with the function of the prefrontal cortex

Answer 1

Executive functions

Question 2

The bridge of fibers that connects the two halves of the brain

Answer 2

Corpus callosum

Question 3

The opposite-side organization of the brain, whereby one side of the body is connected to and controlled by the opposite brain hemisphere

Answer 3

Contralateral

Question 4

The severing of the corpus callosum to reduce the spread of seizures across brain hemispheres

Answer 4

Split-brain procedure

Question 5

The collections of brain regions that are connected and work together to support brain functions

Answer 5

Brain networks

Question 6

A structural imaging technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create images of the brain

Answer 6

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Question 7

An early pseudoscience suggesting that mental abilities and personality traits could be read from bumps on the skull

Answer 7

Phrenology

Question 8

The study of the brain’s workings; done by examining a brain’s altered function following brain damage

Answer 8

Neuropsychology

Question 9

An abnormal tissue resulting from disease, trauma, or surgical intervention

Answer 9

Lesion

Question 10

The neuropsychological evidence, following brain damage or a lesion, that a specific brain area is involved in a particular function but not in others

Answer 10

Dissociation

Question 11

A measurement of the electrical activity of a single neuron

Answer 11

Single-cell recording

Question 12

The recording of electrical waves from many thousands of neurons in the brain, gathered using electrodes placed on the scalp

Answer 12

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Question 13

The recording of the magnetic fields produced by the brain’s electrical currents

Answer 13

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Question 14

The injection of radioactive glucose into a person’s bloodstream to measure blood flow associated with higher brain activity or the brain’s use of specific neurochemicals

Answer 14

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Question 15

A variation of MRI that measures brain function by tracking oxygen in the blood flow through the brain

Answer 15

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Question 16

The insertion of an electrode deep in a patient’s brain to alter the activity of brain regions that have been abnormally active

Answer 16

Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

Question 17

A temporary and reversible disruption or enhancement of cortical brain functions that allows scientists to study brain regions and their functions

Answer 17

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Question 18

A gentler form of neurostimulation that uses very low levels of direct current delivered via electrodes on the head to stimulate brain function, such as enhancing hand-eye coordination

Answer 18

Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS)