COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE QUIZ

Question 1

Early studies of brain tissue that used staining techniques and microscopes from the 19th century described the “nerve net.” These early understandings were in error in the sense that the nerve net was believed to be
A. continuous.
B. composed of discrete individual units.
C. composed of cell bodies, axons, and dendrites.
D. composed of neurotransmitters rather than neurons.

Answer 1

A. continuous.

Question 2

The neuron doctrine is
A. in agreement with nerve net theory.
B. unrelated to nerve net theory.
C. synonymous with nerve net theory.
D. in disagreement with nerve net theory.

Answer 2

D. in disagreement with nerve net theory.

Question 3

Action potentials occur in the
A. cell body.
B. synapse.
C. neurotransmitters.
D. axon.

Answer 3

D. axon.

Question 3

Neural circuits are groups of interconnected neurons that
A. have only excitatory synapses.
B. have only inhibitory synapses.
C. can result in a neuron that responds best to a specific stimulus.
D. are primarily responsible for automatic behaviors, like reflexes.

Answer 3

C. can result in a neuron that responds best to a specific stimulus.

Question 4

Recordings from single neurons are conducted using which of these pieces of equipment?
A. Positron emission tomography scanner
B. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner
C. Microelectrode
D. Neurotransmitter

Answer 4

C. Microelectrode

Question 5

An oscilloscope can display “spikes” that correspond to nerve impulses in response to a certain stimulus intensity. If the stimulus intensity is decreased, you are likely to observe spikes that are
A. less frequent and smaller in size.
B. less frequent and of the same size.
C. as frequent and smaller in size.
D. the same signal as with the higher stimulus intensity.

Answer 5

B. less frequent and of the same size.

Question 6

If the intensity of a stimulus that is presented to a touch receptor is increased, this tends to increase the _____ in the receptor’s axon.
A. rate of nerve firing
B. size of the nerve impulses
C. speed of nerve conduction
D. all of these

Answer 6

A. rate of nerve firing

Question 7

When recording from a single neuron, stimulus intensity is represented in a single neuron by the
A. size of the action potentials.
B. size of the synapse.
C. firing rate of the neurotransmitters.
D. firing rate of the action potentials.

Answer 7

D. firing rate of the action potentials.

Question 7

Which of the following statements best describes how neurons communicate with one another?
A. The end of one neuron makes direct contact with the receiving end of another neuron.
B. A chemical process takes place at the synapse.
C. An electrical process takes place in the receptors.
D. Action potentials travel across the synapse.

Answer 7

B. A chemical process takes place at the synapse.

Question 8

Which of the following is consistent with the idea of localization of function?
A. Specific areas of the brain serve different functions.
B. Neurons in different areas of the brain respond best to different stimuli.
C. Brain areas are specialized for specific functions.
D. All of these

Answer 8

D. All of these

Question 9

Recording from single neurons in the brain has shown that neurons responding to specific types of stimuli are often clustered in specific areas. These results support the idea of
A. cortical association.
B. dissociation.
C. localization of function.
D. the information processing approach.

Answer 9

C. localization of function.

Question 9

The temporal lobe is
A. the first place in the cerebral cortex where visual information is received.
B. important for language, memory, hearing, and vision.
C. important for higher functions such as language, thought, and memory, as well as motor functioning.
D. where signals are received from the auditory system.

Answer 9

D. where signals are received from the auditory system.

Question 10

The occipital lobe is
A. the first place in the cerebral cortex where visual information is received.
B. important for language, memory, hearing, and vision.
C. important for higher functions such as language, thought, and memory, as well as motor functioning.
D. where signals are received from the sensory system for touch.

Answer 10

A. the first place in the cerebral cortex where visual information is received.

Question 11

The _____ lobe of the cortex serves higher functions such as language, thought, and memory.
A. subcortical
B. frontal
C. occipital
D. parietal

Answer 11

B. frontal

Question 12

Which part of the brain is important for touch?
A. Occipital lobe
B. Hippocampus
C. Temporal lobe
D. Parietal lobe

Answer 12

D. Parietal lobe

Question 12

A 10-month-old baby is interested in discovering different textures, comparing the touch sensations between a soft blanket and a hard wooden block. Tactile signals such as these are received by the _____ lobe.
A. parietal
B. occipital
C. frontal
D. temporal

Answer 12

A. parietal

Question 12

Positron emission tomography (PET) utilizes which of the following tools?
A. Disc electrode
B. Microelectrode
C. Radioactive tracer
D. Hemoglobin

Answer 12

C. Radioactive tracer

Question 13

There are many methods for studying the physiology of the brain. ________ is the technique involving subtraction whereby brain activity is compared between baseline and stimulation measurements.
A. Convergence
B. Single unit recording
C. Positron emission tomography
D. Mental chronometry

Answer 13

C. Positron emission tomography

Question 14

Brain-imaging techniques can determine all of the following EXCEPT
A. areas of the brain activated during cognitive tasks.
B. localization of brain activity in response to a specific stimulus.
C. the structure of individual neurons.
D. patterns of blood flow in the brain.

Answer 14

C. the structure of individual neurons.

Question 15

Brain imaging has made it possible to
A. determine which areas of the brain are involved in different cognitive processes.
B. view individual neurons in the brain.
C. show how environmental energy is transformed into neural energy.
D. view propagation of action potentials.

Answer 15

A. determine which areas of the brain are involved in different cognitive processes.

Question 16

Which of the following do PET and fMRI have in common?
A. The use of the subtraction technique
B. The measurement of magnetic fields
C. The use of radioactive tracers
D. All of the above are characteristics of both PET and fMRI

Answer 16

A. The use of the subtraction technique

Question 16

Sarah has experienced brain damage making it difficult for her to understand spatial layout. Which area of her brain has most likely sustained damage?
A. Fusiform face area (FFA)
B. Parahippocampal place area (PPA)
C. Extrastriate body area (EBA)
D. Functional magnetic area (FMA)

Answer 16

B. Parahippocampal place area (PPA)

Question 16

The fusiform face area (FFA) in the brain is often damaged in patients with
A. Broca’s aphasia.
B. Wernicke’s aphasia.
C. prosopagnosia.
D. Alzheimer’s disease.

Answer 16

C. prosopagnosia.

Question 17

Ramon is looking at pictures of scantily clad women in a magazine. He is focusing on their body parts, particularly their chest and legs. Which part of Ramon’s brain is activated by this viewing?
A. Fusiform face area (FFA)
B. Parahippocampal place area (PPA)
C. Extrastriate body area (EBA)
D. Functional magnetic area (FMA)

Answer 17

C. Extrastriate body area (EBA)

Question 18

Josiah is trying to speak to his wife, but his speech is very slow and labored, often with jumbled sentence structure. Josiah may have damage to his
A. Broca’s area.
B. Parahippocampal place area (PPA)
C. Extrastriate body area (EBA)
D. Wernicke’s area.

Answer 18

A. Broca’s area.

Question 19

Paul Broca’s and Carl Wernicke’s research provided early evidence for
A. distributed processing.
B. localization of function.
C. prosopagnosia.
D. neural net theory.

Answer 19

B. localization of function.

Question 19

Damage to Wernicke’s area is in which lobe of the brain?
A. Temporal
B. Occipital
C. Parietal
D. Frontal

Answer 19

A. Temporal

Question 19

Compared to brain-imaging techniques, ERP occurs on a
A. much slower time scale.
B. similar time scale.
C. much faster time scale.
D. more precise scale for understanding which brain structures are active.

Answer 19

C. much faster time scale.

Question 20

Recent research on language has modified our earlier understanding of Broca’s aphasia such that it is now understood as a problem in
A. language production but not understanding.
B. language production but not meaning.
C. language form but not meaning.
D. language meaning but not form.

Answer 20

C. language form but not meaning.

Question 21

In ERP methodology, the number that follows the N or the P (N400 or P300, for example) stands for
A. the positivity or negativity of the response.
B. how likely the response is, with higher numbers indicating a more likely response.
C. how strong the response is in millimeters on the reading.
D. the time at which the response peaks in millisecond

Answer 21

D. the time at which the response peaks in milliseconds.

Question 22

Research using the ERP method shows that damage to the frontal lobes reduces the larger _____response that occurs when the form of a sentence is incorrect.
A. N100
B. N400
C. P300
D. P600

Answer 22

D. P600

Question 23

You are walking down the street and see a really nice car drive by. You notice many features of it: its color, movement, shape, location, and so forth. All of these features are processed
A. in one localized area of the brain.
B. by the grandmother cells in the brain.
C. in different parts of the brain.
D. through fMRI potentials.

Answer 23

C. in different parts of the brain.

Question 24

The layer of neurons that lines the back of the eye is called the
A. retina.
B. grandmother cell.
C. reference electrode.
D. feature detector.

Answer 24

A. retina.

Question 25

Neurons that respond to features that make up objects are called
A. retinal cells.
B. feature detectors.
C. dendrites.
D. receptors.

Answer 25

B. feature detectors.

Question 26

The pattern of feature detectors firing in response to a stimulus creates the _____ for representing what the stimulus is (e.g., a tree, a person, a ball, and so forth).
A. neural code
B. module
C. event-related potential
D. receptor

Answer 26

A. neural code

Question 27

The way patterns of neural firing represent a specific stimulus or experience is known as
A. the action potential.
B. a propagated signal.
C. convergence.
D. the neural code.

Answer 27

D. the neural code.

Question 28

f kittens are raised in an environment that contains only verticals, you would predict that most of the neurons in their visual cortex would respond best to the visual presentation of a
A. brick wall.
B. chain link fence.
C. solid wall.
D. picket fence.

Answer 28

D. picket fence.

Question 29

The idea of a grandmother cell is consistent with
A. distributed coding.
B. specificity coding.
C. subtraction techniques.
D. primary receiving areas.

Answer 29

B. specificity coding.

Question 30

A grandmother cell responds
A. only to a specific stimulus.
B. to strong positive emotion.
C. to both positive and negative emotion.
D. to a variety of stimuli.

Answer 30

A. only to a specific stimulus.

Question 31

When conducting an experiment on how stimuli are represented by the firing of neurons, you notice that neurons respond differently to different faces. For example, Arthur’s face causes three neurons to fire, with neuron 1 responding the most and neuron 3 responding the least. Roger’s face causes the same three neurons to fire, with neuron 1 responding the least and neuron 3 responding the most. Your results support ____ coding.
A. specificity
B. distributed
C. convergence
D. divergence

Answer 31

B. distributed

Question 32

The concept of distributed neural coding proposes that a specific object, like a face, is represented across a number of
A. microelectrodes.
B. stimuli.
C. modalities.
D. neurons.

Answer 32

D. neurons.

Question 33

A specific person’s face is represented in the nervous system by the firing of
A. a feature detector that fires specifically to that face.
B. a group of neurons that all respond only to that face.
C. a group of neurons each responding to a number of different faces.
D. a receptor in the retina that responds when the face is present

Answer 33

C. a group of neurons each responding to a number of different faces.

Question 34

Most cognitive psychologists _____ the notion of a grandmother cell.
A. accept
B. are uncertain about
C. reject
D. are actively investigating

Answer 34

C. reject

Question 34

Shinkareva et al. (2008) conducted research that revealed
A. the existence of feature detectors.
B. the distinction between form and meaning in language.
C. a computer could fairly accurately predict what category of object one was viewing.
D. strong support for specificity coding.

Answer 34

C. a computer could fairly accurately predict what category of object one was viewing.

Question 35

When conducting an experiment on how stimuli are represented by the firing of neurons, you notice that neurons respond differently to different faces. For example, Arthur’s face causes three neurons to fire, with neuron 1 responding the most and neuron 3 responding the least. Roger’s face causes the same three neurons to fire, with neuron 1 responding the least and neuron 3 responding the most. Your results support ____ coding.
A. specificity
B. distributed
C. convergence
D. divergence

Answer 35

B. distributed