After suffering an accidental brain injury, Kira has difficulty walking in a smooth and coordinated manner. It is most probable that she has suffered damage to her: A. amygdala. B. angular gyrus. C. cerebellum. D. corpus callosum. Answer: C

Which region of the brain appears to have the oldest evolutionary history? A. frontal lobes B. limbic system C. brainstem D. corpus callosum Answer: C

Following massive damage to his frontal lobes, Phineas Gage was most strikingly debilitated by: A. irritability B. memory loss C. auditory hallucinations D. a reward deficiency syndrome Answer: A

A visit to a phrenologist would have resulted in an analysis of the person’s: A. heart beats. B. skull bumps. C. neurotransmitter function. D. endocrine system. Answer: B

A. frontal lobe B. amygdala C. reticular formation D. occipital lobe A new superhero emerges on the scene. This superhero is able to stay awake and vigilant for extended amounts of time. He helps the intelligence community by being able to stay in surveillance for extended amounts of time without losing concentration and can always be paying attention to what is happening. A study of this superhero’s brain might show that the ____________ is more advanced and developed than a non-superhero’s. A. frontal lobe B. amygdala C. reticular formation D. occipital lobe Answer: C

A. left frontal lobe. B. right frontal lobe. C. left temporal lobe. While working on a word problem, Jenae has an “aha!” moment of sudden insight about how to solve the problem. If you were mapping her brain activity on an EEG at that moment, you would expect to observe a burst of activity in her: A. left frontal lobe. B. right frontal lobe. C. left temporal lobe. D. right temporal lobe. Answer: D

Which technique is most useful for seeing which regions of the brain are most active while a person reads a poem? A. EEG B. fMRI C. EKG D. PET Answer: D

A. not much decline in memory or intelligence B. poor judgment You are a neurologist in a large hospital. The wife of a construction worker visits you and describes that her husband has experienced a serious injury to his frontal lobe. She is perplexed by his behavior. Which of the following would you tell her is “normal behavior” for a person with frontal lobe damage? A. not much decline in memory or intelligence B. poor judgment C. irritability and other personality changes D. ALL of these are commonly seen in frontal lobe damage Answer: D

Which of the following activities is NOT primarily a function of the left hemisphere? A. listening to a piano concerto B. reading your psychology book C. reading junk mail D. listening to a poetry reading Answer: A

If Dr. Barnes wanted to cause a cat to take on an attack posture, which of the cat’s brain structures should he electrically stimulate? A. amygdala B. hypothalamus C. hippocampus D. cerebellum Answer: A

A split-brain patient’s right hemisphere is presented with a key A split-brain patient’s right hemisphere is presented with a key. How is he most likely to respond? A. say the word “key” B. select a key from a group of objects presented to his left hand C. select a key from a group of objects presented to his right hand D. he will not be able to say “key” or to pick out a key from a group of objects with either hand Answer: B

While out for a bike ride, you can think about what you’ll make for dinner rather than concentrate on how to operate the bicycle. This illustrates: A. parallel processing. B. Sigmund Freud’s concept of the unconscious. C. the function of delta waves. D. somnambulism. Answer: A

Critical Thinking Questions

Due to an automobile accident, Jenny suffered damage to her cerebral cortex in Broca's area. Jenny is most likely to experience: A. auditory hallucinations. B. aphasia. C. memory loss. D. paralysis of her left limbs. Answer: B

In which of the following parts of the brain would a lesion most likely result in aphasia? A. corpus callosum B. amygdala C. hypothalamus D. Wernicke's area Answer: D

Adoptive parents are least likely to influence the ________ of their adopted children. A. personality traits B. religious beliefs C. political attitudes D. moral values Answer: A

Little Bethany loves new faces and stimuli, and laughs easily Little Bethany loves new faces and stimuli, and laughs easily. People respond to her with playful smiles and tickles, which makes her giggle and ask for more. This represents ___________ between genetic predispositions and environments. A. an interaction B. natural selection C. heritability D. gender typing Answer: A

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of. . .This saying reflects perspectives about human beings. Which of the following perspectives does this saying reflect? A. nature B. nurture C. both nature and nurture D. neither nature nor nurture Answer: A

You are what you eat. This saying reflects perspectives about human beings. Which of the following perspectives does this saying reflect? A. nature B. nurture C. both nature and nurture D. neither nature nor nurture Answer: B