Brain Regions/Functions – Cerebral Cortex Flashcards
A disinhibited syndrome that is characterized by impulsivity, aggressive behaviors, social inappropriateness, and emotional lability is most likely to be the result of damage to the:
A. orbitofrontal cortex.
B. dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
C. ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
D. ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.
Answer A is correct. The prefrontal cortex consists of several regions, including those listed in the answers. Of these regions, damage to the orbitofrontal cortex is most likely to cause impulsivity, aggression, and the other symptoms listed in the question.
The words “food mart” are presented to split-brain patients so that “food” is presented to their left visual fields only and “mart” is projected to their right visual fields only. When they’re asked what they have seen, the patients will most likely say which of the following?
A. food
B. mart
C. food mart
D. mart food
Answer B is correct. For this question, you want to assume that the left hemisphere of these patients is dominant for language since this is true for most people. Because “food” was presented to the patients’ left visual fields, information about the word was transmitted directly to their right (nondominant) hemispheres, so they will be unable to say “food.” However, because “mart” was presented to the patients’ right visual fields, information about the word was transmitted directly to their left (dominant) hemispheres, and they will be able to say “mart.”
Wernicke’s aphasia and Broca’s aphasia share which of the following symptoms?
A. impaired repetition
B. anomia
C. impaired repetition and anomia
D. neither impaired repetition nor anomia
Answer C is correct. Wernicke’s aphasia and Broca’s aphasia differ in terms of comprehension and fluency of speech, but both involve impaired repetition and anomia (an inability to recall the names of familiar objects).
As the result of a traumatic brain injury, a middle-aged man exhibits ________, which means he cannot recognize family members by their faces.
A. anosognosia
B. asomatognosia
C. prosopagnosia
D. Gerstmann’s syndrome
Answer C is correct. Prosopagnosia is usually caused by bilateral lesions in the occipitotemporal junction and involves an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people and, in some cases, the faces of pets and other familiar animals.
Patients with lesions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are most likely to exhibit:
A. acquired sociopathy.
B. perseverative responses.
C. decreased initiative and motivation.
D. behavioral disinhibition.
Answer B is correct. Perseverative (repetitive) responses are most associated with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. For example, when asked to draw as many different shapes as possible, patients with damage to this area are likely to repeatedly draw the same shape or similar shapes. Patients with lesions in the orbitofrontal cortex are likely to exhibit acquired sociopathy and behavioral disinhibition (answers A and D), and those with lesions in the medial prefrontal cortex are likely to exhibit decreased initiative and motivation (answer C).
A patient with damage to her primary visual cortex in both the right and left hemispheres is shown a photograph of a happy face. Although she claims she cannot see the image, she responds to it by smiling. This illustrates which of the following?
A. visual agnosia
B. facial feedback hypothesis
C. blindsight
D. Gerstmann’s syndrome
Answer C is correct. Blindsight occurs when a person with cortical blindness is shown a visual stimulus and responds appropriately to it (e.g., smiles when she is shown an image of a happy face) even though she claims she does not see the stimulus.
A patient with __________ will deny that her left arm is paralyzed.
A. anosognosia
B. asomatognosia
C. prosopagnosia
D. Gerstmann’s syndrome
Answer A is correct. Anosognosia is caused by damage to the parietal lobe and involves denial or lack of awareness of one’s disabilities.
