Chapter 1: A Framework for Mind and Brain
Multiple Choice Questions (1-5)
1. Cognitive neuroscience is the study of
a. *The mind and brain
b. The brain and emotions
c. The mind and development
d. The brain and social behaviors
2. Which of the following is the best example of 'levels of analysis' when studying the
brain?
a. *A neuron in primary visual cortex, a region in primary visual cortex, the occipital
lobe, and the entire human brain
b. The frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the parietal lobe
c. A man's brain, a woman's brain, a child's brain, and an ape brain
d. All of the above
3. The three Global States are:
a. Consciousness, unconsciousness, and comatose
b. *Waking, sleeping and dreaming
c. Emotional, cognitive, and analytical
d. Newborn, child, and adult
4. The Cortical Core is:
a. Believed to support human consciousness
b. Made up of the cortex and the two thalami
c. A massive hub of connectivity in the brain
d. *All of the above
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5. According to the theater analogy for the Global Workspace Theory developed by Baars:
a. The entire theater represents unconscious processes
b. *The spotlight on the stage represents voluntary attention
c. The spotlight on the stage represents working memory
d. None of the above
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. Describe briefly the various elements of the theater (e.g., stage, audience, backstage) used
as an analogy for the Global Workspace Theory and what they are proposed to represent
in human cognition.
The theater analogy for the global workspace theory. According to this analogy, the
entire theater -- stage, audience, players, and backstage areas -- form the basis of
conscious and unconscious brain processes. The theater stage represents working
memory. A spotlight on the stage represents voluntary attention. Only the stage contents
illuminated by the attentional spotlight are conscious. The rest of the theater represents
the vast unconscious store of knowledge and memories that can enter the contents of
consciousness once they are on the stage and under the spotlight. A key point here is that
the spotlight of attention on the stage is very limited in capacity: it represents just a small
portion of the stage (working memory), which in turn represents a small portion of the
vast theater (unconscious knowledge and processes).
2. Explain how the three Global States are reflected in shifting levels of awareness and
wakefulness.
For healthy individuals, our typical conscious state includes a balance of full
wakefulness and awareness. As we move through the three global states of waking,
sleeping, and dreaming, our level of awareness (contents of our consciousness) is
coupled with our level of wakefulness. As we begin to feel sleepy, then, both the levels of
awareness and wakefulness drop until we reach deep sleep where we are neither aware
nor awake.
3. Briefly describe the cortical core and the role it plays in cognition.
A generally-held belief, supported by mounting evidence, is that the cortical core
supports human consciousness: the mighty thalamus located deep in the heart of the
brain connects to nearly every region in the cortex and together the two thalami and the
cortex form the cortical core, the central machinery of the brain.
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The two thalami are nestled into the center of the brain and form a massive
influence over the cortex and the brain in general. The thalamo-cortical core, made up
of the thalami and the cortex, can almost be thought of as a single massive hub that
provides the lightning fast connectivity needed for waking cognition and the modulatory
influences required for shifting the brain through the stages of sleep and the states of
consciousness. Together they form the target for anesthesia and, when damaged, the
basis for sustained unconsciousness and vegetative states.
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Chapter 2: The brain
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. The four lobes of the cortex are the:
a. *Temporal, parietal, occipital, and frontal
b. Frontal, medial, dorsal, and ventral
c. Sagittal, medial, coronal, and axial
d. Inferior, superior, anterior, and posterior
2. The brain is typically 'sliced' into three planes:
a. Ventral, dorsal, and medial
b. *Sagittal, coronal, and axial
c. Frontal, temporal, and parietal
d. Coronal, dorsal, and horizontal
3. Which of these brain terms are describing a similar place in the brain?
a. *Superior frontal lobe and dorsal frontal lobe
b. Inferior temporal lobe and dorsal temporal lobe
c. Anterior parietal lobe and ventral occipital lobe
d. Posterior occipital lobe and superior parietal lobe
4. One way to describe the sulci and gyri in the cortex is
a. Sulci are small bumps and gyri are small grooves
b. Sulci are gray matter and gyri are white matter
c. *Sulci are small grooves and gyri are small bumps
d. Sulci are white matter and gyri are gray matter
5. The massive fiber bridge between the left and right cerebral hemispheres is:
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a. The cerebellum
b. *The corpus callosum
c. The Longitudinal Fissure
d. The Sylvian Fissure
6. The thalamus is a key structure in the brain. Which of the following is true about the
thalamus?
a. There are two thalami: one in the left hemisphere and one in the right
b.
Along with the cortex, it forms a key hub
c. The right and left hemisphere thalami are interconnected with all four lobes in their
hemisphere
d. *All of the above
7. A key subcortical body for emotional processing is the
a. Basal ganglia
b. *Amygdala
c. Thalamus
d. Hippocampus
8. The brainstem connects the brain to the spinal cord. The three major regions of the
brainstem are:
a. The midbrain, the lower brain, and the upper brain
b. *The midbrain, the pons, and the medulla
c.
The upper brain, the midbrain, and the medulla
d. The lower brain, the spinal brain, and the midbrain
9. Three parts of a neuron are
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a. *The axon, the soma, and the dendrites
b. The axon, the synapse, and the medulla
c. The dendrites, the pons, and the axon
d. None of the above
10. The 'executive functions' of planning and initiating activities are key processes of the
a. The temporal lobe
b. The parietal lobe
c. *The frontal lobe
d. The occipital lobe
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. Name the three planes of the brain and describe how they ‘slice’ the brain.
Classically, the brain has been ‘sliced’ using three planes –and these planes are described in
similar ways whether the slicing is actual slicing of the brain during, for example, a post mortem
examination, or it is virtual slicing using MRI images of the brain. The three planes are shown in
Figure 2.4 in the text: slicing sideways across the brain – so that you can see the left and right
hemispheres – is called an axial slice. Sometimes an axial slice is called a horizontal slice
because it is a horizontal cut through the brain. A second way to slice through the brain is
called a sagittal slice. This is a slice that cuts down through the brain beginning in one
hemisphere, continuing on until the middle of the brain is met: this is called a mid-sagittal slice,
and continuing still further until the second hemisphere is shown. Think of this slicing as
beginning at one ear and continuing through the brain towards the middle of the head and onto
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the other ear. The third type of brain slice is the coronal slice. Think about a slice that begins at
the ears but this time the slices will continue forward towards the front of the head or backward
towards the back of the head. A coronal slice will show both hemispheres, like the axial slice.
2. What are some major landmarks of the brain?
Possible responses are: the four lobes of each hemisphere and the cerebellum; the Sylvian
Fissure, the Longitudinal Fissure, and the Central Sulcus; the brainstem, the corpus callosum,
and the ventricles.
3. What role does the prefrontal cortex play in human cognition?
The prefrontal cortex – that is, the area in the front region of the frontal lobe – is the nonmotor area of the frontal lobe. In some ways, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the most cognitive
region of the brain. It is here that our ‘executive’ functions are located: those processes that
allow us to plan for the future, make decisions, focus our attention on one thing and not another.
Like an executive in a large firm, the PFC does not do all of the cognitive ‘work’ of the brain but
rather controls it and synthesizes it. The PFC is highly interconnected with the thalamus, other
subcortical regions, as well as with the other three lobes of the cerebral cortex.
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Chapter 3: Observing the Brain
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Neuroimaging techniques such as MRI, fMRI, and MEG have changed our approach to
the brain in what way?
a. Neuroimaging provides a completely direct measurement of brain activities
b. Neuroimaging provides a way to study the activity of individual neurons
c. *Neuroimaging permits functional studies of brain areas, as well as the
connections between them.
d. Neuroimaging has not basically changed the study of the brain
2. What is a disadvantage of studying individuals with brain injuries?
a. *Brain injuries are typically not limited to a specific brain function
b. It is difficult to find an individual who has a brain injury
c. Brain injuries are often easily healed
d. Brain functions are too complex to be studied in individuals with brain injuries
3. Which of the following methods has the best spatial resolution?
a. Electroencephalography (EEG)
b. Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
c. *Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
d. Lesion studies
4. Which of the following is an advantage of single cell recordings?
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a. The whole brain can be represented by a few spikes
b. It is a noninvasive procedure
c. Cells can be determined as excitatory or inhibitory based on single spikes
d. *It is the most precisely localized recording method
5. Which of the following is correct about fMRI and PET?
a. fMRI and PET are both direct measures of brain activity
b. fMRI is a direct measure of brain activity while PET is an indirect measure
c. fMRI is an indirect measure of brain activity while PET is an indirect measure
d. *fMRI and PET are both indirect measures of brain activity
6. How do fMRI and MRI differ?
a. fMRI images the full brain while MRI images a specified portion
b. *fMRI images functional brain activity while MRI images anatomical images
c. fMRI images the frontal lobe while MRI images the entire brain
d. fMRI images the final development of the brain, while MRI images developing
brain
7. What is the key principle of BOLD fMRI?
a. *Active brain areas consume oxygen
b. Communication between distinct hemispheres occurs
c. Cortical regions interact in a feedforward manner
d. Some cortical neurons have myelinated axons
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8. What is a concern when using an experimental design that compares an “active” stage to
one at “rest”?
a. If a person is unable to sleep, it is impossible to achieve a resting state
b. Individuals that exercise regularly will have less difficulty in the “active”
requirements
c. *The brain is not truly “at rest” in the absence of an experimental task, since
people are likely to be thinking of other things
d. What one person considers to be active, another may regard as restful
9. Methods such as
the methods of
tell researchers precisely where activity is happening while
reflect more precisely when it is happening.
a. EEG and MEG, MRI and PET
b. EEG and MRI, MEG and PET
c. *MRI and PET, EEG and MEG
d. MEG and PET, EEG and MRI
10. A key benefit of the advent of brain imaging techniques is that they allow us to
a. Investigate causational relationships between cognitive processes and brain
activity
b. *Investigate aspects of cognition that were previously impossible to observe
directly, such as brain areas that are active for seen versus imagined stimuli
c. Record direct signals of neural activity for differing kinds of stimuli
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d. All of the above
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. What is a voxel and what does it measure in the brain?
Individual brains therefore need individual images. MRI and CAT scans are used to take a
snapshot of the three-dimensional brain at any particular moment. Figures 3.4 and 3.5 in the text
show the smallest unit imaged using MRI: a “voxel.” The actual size of a voxel varies depending
upon factors such as the resolution of the MRI scanner, the size of the brain being scanned, and
the brain region being scanned. A typical voxel for a T1-weighted scan is about one cubic
millimeter (mm3). If it is from the cortex, a single voxel may contain tens of thousands of
neurons. Figure 3.6 shows a brain navigation program with a screenshot of the standard
coordinate system used in most MRI research.
Comparing brain responses on a voxel-by-voxel basis may tell investigators about the neural
functions of comparatively small regions of the cortex and subcortical structures.
2. Discuss the difference between structural MRI and functional fMRI? How are each
used?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the predominant anatomical imaging device used in
hospitals, clinics, and research laboratories today. It's emergence only a few decades ago
revolutionized both clinical and research brain investigations. MRI scanners contain strong
magnets that range between 0.5-Tesla (T) up to 7-T (5000- 70,000 gauss) and beyond. MRI
utilizes the magnetic properties of the tiny cells -- in the body and in the brain -- to render sharp,
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precise images. A hydrogen nucleus (a single proton) in a cell is present in water, which in turn
is present in all body tissues. MRI scanners make use of the magnetic properties in protons to
align them using the strong magnetic field that is present in the MRI scanner (see Figure 3.7 in
the text). The protons are rotated by the radio waves in the magnetic field of the scanner and
detected by coils designed to collect information across the three dimensions of the area of the
body or brain being scanned.
The result is a detailed 'picture' of soft tissue, bones, cartilage, etc., in whatever is being
scanned.
Currently, the most popular method of studying human cognition is functional MRI (fMRI) (see
Figures 3.19 and 3.20 in the text) and especially the kind that measures the oxygen level of the
local blood circulation (called BOLD, for blood-oxygen level dependent activity).
When neurons fire, they consume oxygen and glucose and secrete metabolic waste products. An
active brain region consumes its local blood oxygen supply, and as oxygen is consumed, we can
see a small drop in the BOLD signal. In a fraction of a second, the loss of regional oxygen
triggers a new influx of oxygen-rich blood to that region producing a recovery of the signal.
However, as the compensatory mechanism overshoots, flooding more oxygenated blood into the
area than is needed, and the signal rises high above the baseline. Finally, as unused oxygen-rich
blood flushes out of the region, we can see a drop in the BOLD signal back to the baseline
(Figure 3.21).
Thus, as the oxygen content of blood produces changes, we can measure neural activation
indirectly. The BOLD signal comes about six seconds after the onset of neuronal firing. The
relationship between neural activation and the BOLD fMRI signal is shown in Figure 3.22. Note
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that these studies frequently use a block design, where a certain task is cycled on and off and the
BOLD signal is measured across the ON and OFF blocks. Other experimental methods are also
used in order to refine the contrasts between experimental conditions and their corresponding
functional brain responses (Figure 3.23).
3. What is a single unit recording? What is the 'unit' it records?
Single unit recording entails the recording of individual 'units' -- neurons -- in the brain. Single
neurons have electrical and magnetic properties, like electrical batteries. We can measure the
charge left in a battery and the amount of work it can do for us. We can also measure its
magnetic field, as well as its chemistry and overall structure. Hubel and Wiesel (1962) recorded
single feature-sensitive cells in the visual cortex of the cat—an achievement for which they
received a Nobel Prize in 1981. More recent work has focused on recording from single neurons,
clusters of neurons, and grids within the cortex using electrodes and grids of differing sizes (see
Figures 3.10 and 3.11 in the text). Like every method, electrical recording of neuronal firing has
its limitations, but it continues to be a major source of information.
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Chapter 4: The art of seeing
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. How does the visual system differ from a camera?
a. A picture from a camera does not encompass the entire visual field
b. *Visual perception is only in full color and high resolution at the center of gaze
c. Visual perception does not fill in missing details
d. The visual system does not work differently than the picture captured by a camera
2. Which of the following is not true about the retina?
a. *Cones can be found in the fovea but not the periphery of the retina
b. Rods can be found in the periphery but not the fovea
c. Four different types of photopigments can be found in the photoreceptors of the eye
d. No photoreceptors are located where the optic nerve meets the eyeball
3. How do the receptive fields in extrastriate (non-primary) visual cortex compare to the
primary visual area V1?
a. They have smaller receptive fields that are sensitive to more complex features
b. * They have larger receptive fields that are sensitive to more complex features
c. They have smaller receptive fields that are sensitive to simpler features
d. They have larger receptive fields that are sensitive to simpler features
4. Information from the
will go to the primary visual cortex in the right
hemisphere.
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a. Right eye
b. Left eye
c. Right visual field
d. *Left visual field
5. Why is there no gap in our vision where our blind spot is located?
a. *The visual system fills in missing information based on the surround
b. There are still a few photoreceptors at the blind spot
c. The blind spot occurs far in the periphery, to which we normally do not pay attention
d. There is a small visual gap, but it is present from birth, and we have learned to ignore
it
6. The Gestalt principles of perception include
a. *Grouping by similarity, good continuation, and proximity
b. Grouping by similarity, good exposure, and shared features
c. Grouping by shared features, receptive fields, and visual field
d. Grouping by color, location, and size
7. The central part of the retina that we “aim” directly at objects to perceive their fine details
is called
a. Optic sight
b. Pupil
c. *Fovea
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d. Visual array
8. The ________ visual stream in the cortex is thought to represent ‘what’ information,
while the _______ visual stream represents ‘where’ information.
a. Dorsal, ventral
b. *Ventral, dorsal,
c. Medial, lateral
d. Striate, extrastriate
9. The fusiform face area (FFA) and the parahippocampal place area (PPA) differ in that
a. The FFA is tuned to fine-grained details while the PPA is sensitive to coarse-grained
aspects of visual stimuli
b. *The FFA responds more to faces while the PPA responds more to places
c. The FFA is in the inferior temporal lobe while the PPA is in the superior parietal lobe
d. The FFA is in the ventral processing stream while the PPA is in the dorsal stream
10. When two very different visual stimuli are presented simultaneously to the two eyes, the
perceptual phenomenon is called
a. Visual object agnosia
b. *Binocular rivalry
c. Blindsight
d. Associative agnosia
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Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. Briefly describe how visual information is processed differently in the dorsal vs. the
ventral processing streams. Why are these differences proposed to occur? What
differing aspects of visual information processing do they subserve?
The ventral or ‘what’ visual stream is important for processing information about the
color, shape, and identity of a visual object – the features that allow us to decode what
the object is. These aspects of the visual object are stable – that is they do not change
depending on their location, orientation, or position in the room, etc. The ventral
processing stream extends from the occipital lobe visual areas anterior to the temporal
lobe.
The dorsal or ‘where’ visual stream is important for processing information about the
location of visual objects so that the visual system can guide actions towards those
objects – such as the location, orientation, and exact position of a coffee cup on a table.
This type of information is not stable – but changes each time the coffee cup has been
repositioned. The dorsal processing stream extends from the occipital lobe visual areas
anterior to the parietal lobe.
2. How do receptive fields differ in area V1 vs. V4?
How do V1 neurons respond to the outline of the house shown in Figure 4.9 in the text? A
V1 neuron that is tuned to 45-degree tilted lines and has its receptive field in the position
along the roof may fire strongly to the angled roof. A V1 neuron that responds best to
vertical will help signal the presence of the vertical wall and a horizontal neuron will
respond to the ceiling or floor of the house. In this sense, it can be readily seen that V1
neurons do much more than respond to simple spots of light, as the LGN does. V1
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neurons provide a neural representation of the orientation of visual features that
comprise the contours and shapes of objects.
Figure 4.9 provides a summary of the hierarchy of visual processing. From the LGN, V1,
V4 to the ventral temporal cortex, you can see that neurons gradually respond to more
complex stimuli from one area to the next. Area V4 is known to be especially important
for the perception of color, and some neurons in this area respond well to more complex
features or combinations of features. For example, some V4 neurons are sensitive to
curvature or to two lines that meet at a specific angle. These neurons might signal the
presence of a curving contour or a corner. From our example of the house, a V4 neuron
might respond best to the meeting of the two lines forming the point of the roof or to
another corner of the house.
3. What does the ‘gorilla in our midst’ experiment tell us about human vision?
The phenomena of bottom-up and top-down attentional processing have intrigued Dan
Simons and his colleagues, who have perfected the study of the role of attention on visual
awareness using a clever and very funny set of experiments. Simons’ studies have shed
new light on how attentional demands affect awareness of even major aspects of a visual
scene. These studies have shown that they can insert a visual element to a scene that
would be thought to completely capture one’s attention through the bottom-up attentional
process mechanisms – however they actually do not capture attention at all if the proper
attentional demands are added to the equation. These experiments include inserting a
person in a gorilla suit into the middle of a video: with the proper task assignment, most
people completely fail to ‘see’ the gorilla. What’s more, even when a person is aware of
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the ‘gorilla in our midst’ videos that have reached a wide audience, they can still miss
major facets in the visual scene if properly distracted by task demands.
Simons’ research includes inattentional blindness experiments along with experiments to
investigate our blindness to even large change in a scene, called change blindness. The
bottom line is that although we have traced the visual pathways from the retina to the
LGN to V1 and higher visual areas, it is clear that some aspects of the visual scene can
enter visual cortex even if one is clinically blind due and that other aspects of the visual
scene are not seen by otherwise completely normal sighted people.
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Chapter 5: Sound, speech, and music perception
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. The time scale for distinguishing between the spoken consonants “b” and “d” is
; however, distinguishing between intonation patterns in sentences requires about
.
a. 20 ms, 200 ms
b. *20 ms, 2000 ms
c. 200 ms, 2000 ms
d. 2000 ms, 20 ms
2. The
pathway is an efferent pathway while the
afferent pathway.
a. Ascending, descending
b. *Descending, ascending
c. Dorsal, ventral
d. Ventral, dorsal
3. The primary auditory cortex is located
a. In the anterior cingulate region
b. At the posterior half of the Sylvian fissure
c. At the corpus callosum
d. *Within Heschl’s gyrus
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pathway is an
4. Interaural level differences are differences between
, contributing to the process
of sound localization.
a. The time delay in a sound as it reaches each ear
b. *The intensity of a single sound as it reaches each separate ear
c. The height of a sound as it reaches each ear
d. The directions of a sound as it reaches each ear
5. Which of the following best describes how brain imaging has shaped our understanding
of speech perception?
a. Neuroimaging has confirmed the theories of the 19th century without requiring
revisions.
b. To date, neuroimaging techniques have not been used to examine the 19th century
theories on speech perception.
c. *Neuroimaging has confirmed the general aspects of speech perception models
from the 19th century, though specific details continue to be discovered.
d. Neuroimaging has revealed critical flaws in previous theories of speech
perception, resulting in the development of an entirely new model.
6. Neuroimaging has revealed that primary auditory cortex (area A1) is active
a. *While we are perceiving a sound but not while imagining a sound
b. While imagining a sound but not while perceiving a sound
c. During both perceiving and reproducing a sound
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d. During both imagining and pretending to sing a sound
7. Two psychological dimensions of sound are
a. Frequency and loudness
b. Pitch and amplitude
c. Frequency and amplitude
d. *Loudness and pitch
8. The rate at which a sound pressure wave vibrates is terms of cycles per second (hertz,
Hz) is known as the ________ of the sound.
a. *Frequency
b. Amplitude
c. Pitch
d. Period
9. Music fills us with emotion. What neural pathways enable this?
a. Auditory pathway and a visual processing stream
b. *Auditory-limbic pathway and an acoustically activated vestibular pathway
c. Limbic pathway and a subcortical visual pathway
d. Auditory pathway and the somatic-brainstem pathway
10. Which of the following responses best reflects the findings by Portas and colleagues
regarding auditory awareness during sleep?
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a. Beeps but not names activated the auditory cortex when the subject was sleeping,
indicating that the auditory cortex processes only some types of sounds during
sleep
b. Names activated the auditory cortex when the subject was awake but not when the
subject was sleeping, indicating that the auditory cortex does not process names
during sleep
c. *Beeps and names activated the auditory cortex both when the subject was awake
and when the subject was sleeping, indicating that the auditory cortex processes
sounds even during sleep
d. Beeps and names activated the auditory cortex when the subject was awake but
not when the subject was sleeping, indicating that the auditory cortex does not
process sounds during sleep
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
4. What are the basic physical features and psychological aspects of sound?
The basic physical features of sounds are: frequency (in Hz), intensity (in dB), and time.
The basic psychological aspects of sound include pitch, loudness, and timbre.
5. Briefly explain the differences between the ‘where’ and ‘what’ auditory systems.
The auditory system must keep track of many aspects of the complex auditory scene: where sounds are
occurring in space and when sounds occur (are they simultaneous, or does one sound precede another?) to
determine what the sound represents in terms of known auditory objects, such as speech or music or new
auditory objects to be learned.
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The ‘where’ system: how does the brain locate sounds in space? Sounds are always changing in time, and
the mapping of auditory space is a complex one. The auditory system uses cues such as the interaural level
difference and interaural time difference to localize sounds in spare. The ‘where’ system also performs
calculations that aid in processing streams of information (sounds from the environment) that aid in
maintaining a sense of where a stream of sound is coming from – for example, keeping track of a friend’s
voice in a crowded area.
The ‘what’ system: how does the brain recognize and learn auditory ‘objects’? Auditory objects such as a
friend’s voice, a cell phone ringtone, or a car’s engine are learned in life and become recognized objects
that aid in decoding the complex auditory scene. These objects help the brain to disentangle a complex
stream of competing sounds such as a car engine revving next to you while your cell phone rings and your
friend is simultaneously talking to you. This process – auditory stream segmentation or analysis – is a key
function of the cortical auditory system.
6. Figure 5.22 details a complex model for auditory language processing in the brain.
Which aspects of this processing are organized in a bilateral (both hemispheres)
manner? Which aspects are organized in a unilateral (typically left dominant)
manner?
According to this model, early speech perceptual processes for mapping the acoustic-phonetic information
in sounds onto words and meaning are proposed to be processed bilaterally – in both left and right
superior temporal lobe regions. Later stages of language processing such as the articulatory network for
speech production are hypothesized to be organized in a unilateral, typically left hemisphere manner.
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Chapter 6: Language and Thought
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Brain imaging studies have shown that the classic language models by Broca and
Wernicke
a. Were based on brain injury cases that do not apply to normal individuals
b. *Were found to be broadly accurate, though recent models have refined the
regions believed to be involved
c. Were inaccurate and need to be revised
d. Continue to be best for current studies of language.
2. Propositions are
a. Grammatical phrase structures
b. *Meaningful statements that refer to the world
c. Statements of pragmatic intent
d. Deep structures that unify at least two surface phrase structures
3. Which of the below is involved in the planning and production of speech?
a. Accessing conceptual representations
b. Encoding grammatical forms
c. Phonological encoding
d. *All of the above
4. The statement “Language is not unitary” means that
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a. There are no units in language
b. Modern brain imaging techniques have broken down classical unified models into
many fragmentary models
c. *There are multiple stages of language processing, which tend to activate
different brain regions
d. In different cultures humans learn their native language at different stages of
development
5. The “meaning” of words is referred to as
to as
while “grammar” is referred
.
a. Prosody, logistics
b. Syntax , prosody
c. Logistics, semantics
d. *Semantics, syntax
6. Conscious goals along with conscious steps for getting from a starting point to the goal is
a characteristic of
a. Internal problem solving
b. External problem solving
c. Implicit problem solving
d. *Explicit problem solving
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7. Compared to
,
involves greater executive control,
frequent conscious access, and the recruitment of many cortical regions in goal pursuit.
a. Explicit problem solving, implicit problem solving
b. *Implicit problem solving, explicit problem solving
c. External problem solving, internal problem solving
d. Internal problem solving, external problem solving
8. ________ is a useful way to work around the capacity limits of immediate memory.
a. Sensory memory
b. Mental effort
c. Selective attention
d. *Chunking
9. A researcher is advertising for chess experts, and people who have never played chess.
You decide that s/he is probably planning to study
a. Pattern recognition
b. How experts use ‘chunking’ to solve problems
c. How working memory processes may differ according to one’s level of expertise
d. *All of the above
10. A good analogy for problem solving is
a. *Finding a path through a maze
b. Playing a game of chess
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c. Following directions in a cookbook
d. Outlining a chapter in a textbook
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. What are the two brain areas that are typically included in a "Classical Theory" of
language organization in the brain? Where are they located?
Two basic pathways for language were proposed in the mid 19th century. Two key findings form the basis for the
'classical' model of language organization. First, in 1861, Pierre Paul Broca presented a paper detailing the case
of a patient who, following brain damage, could only produce a single syllable 'tan' (Broca, 1861). Upon autopsy,
Broca described the patient's brain damage as focused in the left hemisphere in the inferior frontal lobe in a region
now called Broca's Area and proposed that this region was critical for speech production.
Shortly thereafter, Wernicke published a monograph detailing a region in the posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus
(STG) that he proposed was critical for speech perception (Wernicke, 1874). The general notion was that cortical
language processes were distributed within the left hemisphere, with a speech processing region in the Superior
Temporal lobe and a speech production region in the Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG).
2. What aspects of problem solving does the Towers of Hanoi task tap?
Although the Towers of Hanoi is an artificial puzzle, it resembles real-life problem-solving in
basic ways, such as having a starting state, a goal state, and a branching tree structure of steps
going from one to the other.
3. Implicit thinking appears to play a central role on human thinking and problem solving.
Provide an everyday example of implicit thinking.
Completion of expected sequences is one example of implicit problem-solving. We do not tell ourselves consciously
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to listen until a melody comes to a resolution. But once a melody starts, we may feel the need to do so. The goal is
implicit or unconscious, like the rules of harmony and melody. Few people can explain those basic rules, but they
have powerful effects nevertheless.
For another example, in driving a car we may be ‘on automatic’ much of the time, because of the routine and
predictable nature of the task. But when traffic becomes dense and unpredictable, when the car tire springs a leak,
or when someone is distracting us by talking, executive control of driving may be more needed. Thus, there may be a
flexible tradeoff between more controlled and more automatic aspects of the act of driving. The same principles may
apply to other kinds of problem-solving.
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Chapter 7: Learning and Remembering
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Which of the following is not a type of human memory system?
a. Working
b. Implicit
c. Semantic
d. *Syntax
2. Explicit memory operates
a. Unconsciously
b. *Consciously
c. Slowly
d. Quickly
3. Young children can immediately repeat short sentences spoken by their parents and
siblings, and then start to produce new sentences that also follow the rules of their native
language. The ability to produce new, rule-governed sentences is thought to involve what
kind of learning?
a. Explicit
b. *Implicit
c. Short term
d. Working
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4. Consolidation refers to
a. Confirming the accuracy of a remembered event
b. Forgetting a memory in old age
c. *Transforming information from temporary to permanent storage
d. Merging memories together
5. The “anterograde amnesia” experienced by patient HM refers to
a. *His inability to form new memories
b. His inability to recall events shortly before his surgery
c. His relatively intact short term memory
d. His ability to recall experiences from his childhood
6. An individual who seems to have normal intelligence but who has a severe loss of
memory for personal experiences is likely
a. *To be suffering from amnesia
b. To have difficulty in everyday conversations
c. To have impaired implicit thinking
d. All of the above
7. Memory consolidation is thought to occur in the
of episodic memories requires the
.
a. *Neocortex, medial temporal lobe
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while conscious recollection
b. Medial temporal lobe, hippocampus
c. Hippocampus, neocortex
d. Prefrontal cortex, hippocampus
8. Working memory is traditionally divided into
a. Voluntary and unconscious processes
b. Learning and retrieval
c. Short term and long term
d. *Visual and verbal components
9. A key difference between short-term memory and long-term memory is that
a. *Short-term memory is sensitive to disruption, while long-term memory is more
resistant to disruption
b. Short-term memory is relatively insensitive to disruption, while long-term
memory is sensitive to disruption
c. Short-term memory lasts from days to weeks, while long-term memory lasts from
seconds to hours
d. Short-term memory processes are largely localized to the sensory cortex, while
long-term memory processes are distributed throughout the neocortex
10. A key difference between episodic memory and semantic memory is that
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a. *Episodic memories can be remembered with an active reconstruction of the
actual recalled event, while semantic memories typically involve a ‘feeling of
knowing’ rather than a fully conscious recollection of an event
b. Episodic memories are less susceptible to forgetting than semantic memories
c. Episodic memories typically involve a ‘feeling of knowing’ rather than a fully
conscious recollection of an event, while semantic memories can be remembered
with an active reconstruction of the actual recalled event
d. Episodic memories are relatively independent of context, while semantic
memories are context-dependent
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
7. How does dividing one’s attention affect memory encoding? Provide everyday
examples of the effects of divided attention on memory formation.
Learning -- memory encoding -- works best when you pay attention. Being distracted while trying to learn
– called divided attention in cognitive psychology terms – impairs retention of new items learned.
Successful encoding requires a level of attention and, presumably, consciousness. How does divided
attention impair memory encoding? This question is still being answered by memory scientists. One
hypothesis is that the deeper processing required to learn takes time to complete and divided attention
limits the time allotted for encoding. Another hypothesis is that consciousness or awareness is a necessary
contributor to memory encoding. Under divided attention situations, one may not be fully conscious of the
material being encoded.
An everyday example of divided attention: if you are studying for an exam and have your textbook and
lecture notes in front of you – but you also have your laptop on and your instant messaging open, you are
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playing some songs you have just downloaded, and you have a group of students at the next table talking
and laughing – you are under a situation of divided attention. Although some students seem to learn well
under some situations of divided attention, most will be distracted by the onslaught of multiple attentionattracting items in their immediate vicinity.
8. What are the key differences between episodic and semantic memory?
Episodic and semantic memory are two forms of declarative (conscious) memory. Episodic memory refers
to memories that have a specific source in time, space, and life circumstances – in other words, they
correspond to an episode (see Figure 9.16). Episodic memories are often autobiographical in nature: we
can think back to last weekend, last summer, our 10 th birthday – specific events that we can explicitly
recall.
Semantic memory involves facts about the world, ourselves, and other knowledge that we share with a
community. These memories are independent of the time and space when and where they were acquired:
they are not directly related to an episode. For example, semantic memory may contain general
information about birthdays and birthday parties but will be separable from specific memories of your last
birthday.
9. Provide everyday examples of types of non-declarative (non-conscious) memories.
Types of non-declarative memory include skills, habituation, priming, implicit or
unconscious goals and learning. Everyday examples of skill memory are driving a car,
keyboarding on a laptop, and reading a sentence (which also involves conscious memory
processes). Other everyday examples include having a song just ‘come to mind’ when
actually it was primed or cued by the name of the band on a website you just looked at.
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Chapter 8: The brain is conscious
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Three global brain states described are:
a. *Waking, sleeping, and dreaming
b. Alert, drowsy, and sleepy
c. Conscious, unconscious, and dreaming
d. Voluntary, involuntary, and executive attention
2. Which of the following is the best example of the ‘chattering’ brain analogy?
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a. Rhythmic activity across a large number of people such as football fans performing ‘the wave’ at a football game
b. *Local synchrony such as a conversation between two individuals in a football arena combined with global
randomness (lack of global synchrony) as there are hundreds of such local conversations that are not linked to
each other
c. Global synchrony such as all of the fans in a football arena cheering at the same time when a goal is scored
d. All of the above
3. Which of the following are major functions of the conscious state?
a. Rapid adaption to new situations
b. Limited capacity for competing sensory information such as two people speaking to you at the same time
c. Voluntary decision making
d. *All of the above
4. An important aspect of the waking state is that:
a. Most tasks are consciously mediated, involving attention and working memory processes
b. Includes both conscious and unconscious processes
c. Has tasks with both reportable and non-reportable components
d. *All of the above
5. Which of the following is true of executive control processes?
a. *They occur during the waking state
b. They are mediated by the basal ganglia
c. They are generally nonconscious
d. All of the above
6. Conscious experiences can include which of the following:
a. Planning a task during the waking state
b. Dreaming during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
c. Voluntary control of attention
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d. *All of the above
7. Which of the following is true of the description by Laureys (2005) of two separable aspects of consciousness in a healthy
person:
a. Levels of awareness can vary but levels of attention remain constant
b. Levels of attention can vary but levels of wakefulness remain constant
c. Levels of awareness and levels of attention are always balanced across the three global states
d. *Levels of attention and levels of wakefulness can vary across the three global states
8. The key difference between voluntary 'top-down' attention and automatic 'bottom-up' attention is:
a. You can consciously control automatic attention but not voluntary attention
b. *You can consciously control voluntary attention but not automatic attention
c. Both voluntary and automatic attention are controlled by executive processes
d. None of the above
9. According to the theater analogy for the Global Workspace Theory proposed by Baars, the stage of the theater represents:
a. Voluntary attention
b. The contents of consciousness
c. *Working memory
d. Unconscious processes
10. According to the theater analogy for the Global Workspace Theory proposed by Baars, the spotlight on the stage of the
theater represents:
a. *Voluntary attention
b. The contents of consciousness
c. Working memory
d. Unconscious processes
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. What are neural oscillations and what role do they play in sustained attention?
Neural oscillations reflect the rhythmic activity of populations of neurons in the brain. These oscillations can be
recorded from the surface of the brain using EEG (see Figure 8.17 A in the text). The recorded signal can then be
analyzed in the power domain for each frequency (Figure 8.17 B). The signal can also be analyzed in the temporal
37
(time) domain for each frequency (Figure 8.17 C). Characteristic neural oscillation frequency bands are delta (1-4
cycles per second, Hertz, Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-14 Hz), beta (14-30 Hz), and gamma (>30 Hz).
According to the model proposed by Clayton and colleagues, monitoring of attention is supported by theta
oscillations in posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC, shown in purple in Figure 8.18). The neural communication
between the pMFC and lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) is aided by phase synchronization in the theta frequency
band (shown in the purple arrow in Figure 8.18). Next, neural communication between the frontal lobe lPFC and
the posterior sensorimotor regions is supported by phase synchronization in the lower frequency bands (theta,
alpha, shown in grey arrows in Figure 8.18).
Sustaining attention during a cognitive task requires the excitation of task-relevant areas in the brain with the
inhibition of task-irrelevant areas. Clayton et al., (2015) proposes that this is accomplished through neural
oscillations from the frontal lobe to posterior sensory cortex. Thus the influence of the frontal cortex over posterior
regions provided by the low frequency bands of oscillations described above allows frontal processes to promote
high frequency gamma band oscillations in a task-relevant area of the brain (in this case, visual cortex shown in
green in Figure 8.18) and lower frequency alpha band oscillations in a task-irrelevant area of the brain (in this
case, auditory cortex shown in orange in Figure 8.18). The influence of the frontal cortex over visual cortex shown
in Figure 8.18 allows the continuous activation of a task-relevant activity (in this example, a visual task with visual
cortex activation) and suppression of task-irrelevant activity (in this example, auditory cortex with suppression of
auditory processing).
2. What are the features of the conscious waking state?
While there exist conscious and unconscious threads during our waking state, we are mostly conscious and aware of
our surroundings. We also expect healthy, conscious adults to do realistic thinking. While dreams are unrealistic,
waking consciousness has been believed to be necessary for logical, mature, and reality-oriented thought.
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Nevertheless, we routinely experience waking fantasies, unfocused states, daydreams, emotional thinking, and mind
wandering.
Table 8.1 in the text presents 17 properties of consciousness that are generally recognized in scientific and medical
literature.
3. Are voluntary attention and consciousness the same processes or separable?
Common sense makes a distinction between attention and consciousness. The word attention seems to imply an
ability to bring something to mind. If you can't remember a word in this book, for example, you might try to “pay
more attention.” What trying to pay more attention comes down to is allowing the forgotten word to be in
consciousness for a longer time. So we rehearse the forgotten word (consciously), or we make a note about it
(making it conscious again), or we write a definition about it (same thing). The traditional “law of effect” about
learning states that the more we make something conscious, the more we will learn it. When we call someone's
attention to a speeding car, we expect him or her to become conscious of it.
In everyday language, “consciousness” refers to an experience—of reading this sentence, for example, or conscious
sensory perception, conscious thoughts, feelings, and images. Those are the experiences we can talk about to one
another. Selective attention implies a selection among possible conscious events. When we make an attentional
selection, we expect to become conscious of what we've chosen to experience.
With careful studies we can separate the phenomena of attention and consciousness. To focus on conscious events
“as such,” we typically study them experimentally in contrast with closely matched unconscious events. By contrast,
experiments on attention typically ask subjects to select one of two alternative stimuli. “Attention” is therefore
concerned with the process of selection and consciousness, with reportable experiences themselves.
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Chapter 9: Decisions, goals, and actions
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Which of the following is not one of the major portions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC)?
a. Ventromedial
b. Dorsolateral
c. *Rostrocaudal
d. Orbitofrontal
2. Which of these involve the prefrontal cortex?
a. You scan your bedroom looking for your black sweater.
b. You decide that you want to go bowling Friday night.
c. You make a new year’s resolution to eat healthier.
d. *All of the above
3. To study mental flexibility in patients with frontal lobe impairments you would likely use
a. Cognitive bias task
b. Blindsight task
c. Visual search task
d. *Wisconsin Card Sorting task
4. The term “silent lobes” has been used for the frontal lobes because they
40
a. Are not involved in speech production
b. “Silence” other lobes of the brain through inhibition
c. Rarely communicate with other lobes
d. *Do not have an easily defined function
5. Humans, primates, dolphins and whales all have large brains. What differences might you expect to find?
a. An enlarged prefrontal cortex in all of these animals
b. *An enlarged prefrontal cortex in the primates and enlarged parietal lobe in aquatic mammals
c. An enlarged prefrontal cortex in the aquatic mammals and an enlarged parietal lobe in the primates
d. An enlarged occipitotemporal lobe in all of these animals
6. “Memories of the future” refers to the ability to make plans and then to follow them to guide behavior, saving mental
images of the future to memory. This ability is a characteristic of what makes humans beings rather than compared to
other mammals.
a. Counteractive, active
b. Responsive, reactive
c. *Active, reactive
d. Reflective, counteractive
7. “Mental flexibility” refers to the
a. *Capacity to respond to unanticipated events
b. Ability of the cortex to develop new cells throughout the lifetime, even after brain damage
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c. Ability to decode ambiguous events
d. Brain’s large-capacity cognitive processes
8. Two common frontal lobe syndromes are
a. Blindsight and Alzheimer’s disease
b. Anterograde and retrograde amnesia
c. *Dorsolateral and orbitofrontal syndromes
d. Agnosia and prosopagnosia
Executive control in the brain is described as
a.
*Both localized and highly distributed
b.
Relying upon the medial temporal lobes
c.
Both adaptive and veridical
d.
Rarely impaired by brain damage
10. The three brain networks underlying attention described by Posner and colleagues are:
a.
Working memory, attention, and volitional control
b.
*Alerting, orienting, and executive
c.
Conscious, unconscious, and intuitive
d.
Attention, alerting, and recalling
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. How is mental flexibility important in everyday life? What brain regions – when
damaged – produce mental rigidity?
See As discussed in Chapter 6, Language and Thought, everyday problem solving involves the ability to
take steps towards a goal – to solve a problem. This problem could be a simple one like deciding where to
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park your car in a parking lot, or a more complex problem like deciding where to go on vacation. Mental
flexibility is important for everyday life because situations frequently change and we need to adapt our
problem solving approach to take into account the new situation.
The frontal lobes are the regions where most executive, problem solving processes are performed. When
there is damage to the frontal lobes, one deficit that is observed in these patients is that they show reduced
mental flexibility. The specific region of the prefrontal lobes that is associated with mental rigidity is the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
2. What are some prefrontal lobe functions?
Functions attributed to the prefrontal lobe include planning, setting goals, and initiating action;
monitoring outcomes and adapting to errors; mental effort in pursuing difficult tasks; interacting with
other regions in pursuit of goals; having motivation; initiating speech and visual imagery; recognizing
other people’s goals; engaging in social cooperation and competition; regulating emotional impulses;
feeling emotions; storing and updating working memory; active thinking; enabling conscious experiences;
sustained attention in the face of distraction; decision-making, switching attention and changing strategies;
planning and sequencing actions; unifying the sound, syntax, and meaning of language; and resolving
competition between plans (see Table 9.1 in the text).
Prefrontal cortex is located in front of the primary motor cortex, sometimes called the motor strip. Major
partitions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are the dorsolateral PFC, the ventromedial PFC, and the
orbitofrontal PFC.
3. Neuroimaging studies of healthy individuals and studies of individuals with frontal lobe
brain damage have provided differing ‘pictures’ of the functions of the frontal lobes. How
do they differ and why do you think this difference occurs?
Neuroimaging studies of healthy individuals have provided detailed information about specific regions in the
prefrontal cortex (PFC) and their role in human cognition. Throughout the past decade or so, more and more
43
information has been provided by these studies so that at present, there are models of the functions of the PFC that
show how specific regions interact with other brain regions in tasks involving working memory, voluntary attention,
and executive control.
While these neuroimaging studies provide many details of localized functional regions in the PFC, a different
picture is provided when looking at the deficits that occur when an individual has suffered brain damage to the
PFC. Generally, the deficits that occur are complex and effect many aspects of cognition. While frontal lobe
syndromes are described, such as the dorsolateral or the orbitofrontal syndromes, in general highly specific deficits
are not observed with frontal lobe damage.
How do we combine the findings across neuroimaging and brain damage studies? This is a central goal of cognitive
neuroscience. At present, our best approach for providing a unified account of frontal lobe function across studies
of healthy and brain damaged individuals is to understand that frontal lobe damage likely causes a cascade of
damage across local and widespread regions such that the deficits may be more complex and less specific. On the
other hand, the findings from neuroimaging studies provide key information about how specific and localized
regions in the PFC process information when they are undamaged and intact.
Chapter 10: Social Cognition
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. The ability to understand each other as conscious beings with internal mental states is known as
a. Cooperative synchrony
b. Mirroring
c. *Social cognition
d. Theory of mind/brain
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2. Which of the following is the correct sequence for the components of Baron-Cohen’s theory of mind model?
a. *Intentionality Detector (ID), Eye-direction Director (EDD), Shared Attention Mechanism (SAM), Theory of Mind
Module (TOMM)
b. Theory of Mind Module (TOMM), Shared Attention Mechanism (SAM), Eye-direction Director (EDD),
Intentionality Detector (ID)
c. Shared Attention Mechanism (SAM), Intentionality Detector (ID), Eye-direction Director (EDD), Theory of Mind
Module (TOMM)
d. Eye-direction Director (EDD), Shared Attention Mechanism (SAM), Theory of Mind Module (TOMM),
Intentionality Detector (ID),
3. The fusiform face area is found in the
a. *Inferior temporal lobe
b. Superior temporal lobe
c. Anterior parietal lobe
d. Posterior parietal lobe
4. Shared attention is a activity.
a. Singular (one-way)
b. Dyadic (two-way)
c. *Triadic (three-way)
d. Quadratic (four-way)
45
5. As you arrive in the parking lot of a supermarket, you see a woman walk towards the market and select a cart. You are
mildly surprised when, instead of entering the market, she pushes the cart into the parking lot towards her car. This is an
example of your
a. Incorrectly attributing an intention (‘entering the market with the cart’) to the woman’s action
b. Intentionality Detector (as described by Baron-Cohen) at work
c. Ability to perceive others’ minds
d. *All of the above
6. The skill to detect eyes and determine the direction of gaze
a. Is present in humans but not in non-human primates
b. Involves triadic (three-way) interactions
c. Is a skill that develop slowly throughout life
d. *Is a fundamental means of communicating mental states in humans
7. Baron-Cohen’s Theory of Mind Module (TOMM) is
a. Present in humans and non-human primates but not in other mammals
b. *A complex knowledge base containing rules of social cognition
c. Present at birth in humans
d. Still present in children with developmental delays
8. You are studying for final exams, with books and lectures notes surrounding you at your desk. Your 2-year old niece comes
over to ask you to play with her. Her 5-year old brother interferes and says: “No, she cannot play now, she has to study.”
Your nephew has a well-developed
46
a. Intentionality detector
b. *Theory of Mind Module
c. Eye-Direction Detector
d. Mirror neuron system
9. Shared attention mechanisms are important for human development because
a. They reflect the understanding that attention is contextually-based
b. They must develop prior to intentionality detection
c. *They reflect the knowledge that both persons are not only looking at the same object or person, but that they each
know the other person is also looking at the item or person
d. All of the above
10. Shared attention networks in the brain are mainly found in the
a. Medial temporal lobe
b. Thalamus
c. Parietal lobe
d. *Frontal lobe
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. What aspect of social cognition do point-light experiments investigate?
Think about a human being dressed all in black in a dark room: on each articulating joint -- each shoulder, elbow, wrist,
knee, and ankle -- on both the left and right sides of the body, there is a single point of light. When this person moved
47
around the dark room, your only cues to perceiving and understanding that motion would be the many points of light
coming from the joints of the person’s body. If you did this experiment, you might be amazed at how easy it is to
understand this biological motion with only the barest bits of information coming from the points of light. As it turns out,
experiments like this are a central way to investigate the neural bases of biological motion, although instead of having a
person dressed in black with lights on their joints, modern experiments use computer generated point-light stimuli.
Where in the brain is biological motion processed? There is a large and growing consensus that the Superior Temporal
Sulcus is the region that responds reliably to biological motion – including the body as investigated using points of light
experiments, but also including eye, mouth, and hand movements (Deen et al., 2015). This region can also be activated by
theory of mind tasks, voices, faces, and language (see Figure 10.23 in the text). The orbitofrontal cortex and the
amygdala are also part of this social perception network (Figure 10.24).
2. Briefly describe what is meant by a ‘Theory of Mind’ (TOM).
The ability to understand and predict our own and others’ minds is called the Theory of Mind. This ability includes the
capability to recognize and respond to the invisible, internal subjective regularities that account for the behaviors of
others. We not only need to plan and sequentially organize our own lives, we frequently need to organize our actions in
conjunction with others. To succeed in this, we must not only be able to have an action plan of our own, we must also
have an insight into the nature of the other fellow’s action plan.
3. Eyes give off many social cues. What are some key cues provided by the eyes in social interaction?
One key cue provided by eyes is mutual gaze, which signals that the attention of both individuals is directed to each other.
Gaze following is another key cue, where one person’s gaze ’follows’ the gaze of the other person, directing attention to
the gazed-upon item or person. Related to gaze following is shared attention, where both persons focus their attention on
a third object or person as well as on each other.
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Chapter 11: Feelings
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Two differing theories about human emotions hold that emotions can be categorized as:
a. Continuous or involuntary events
b. *Continuous or discrete
c. Cortical or subcortical
d. Brain-based or body-based
2. Which of the following is NOT a region in the subcortical limbic system?
a. Amygdala
b. Basal Ganglia
c. Periaqueductal Grey region
d. *Cerebellum
3. 'Cognitive reappraisal' is a term used to describe
a. Deciding if a situation or event is good for you or bad for you
b. *Changing one's view of a given situation, typically to help down-regulate negative emotion
c. Creating a schema for coping with angry people
d. None of the above
4. Neuroimaging studies of human emotions such as fear, sadness, and happiness have provided evidence that:
49
a. Specific individual emotions such as fear, sadness, and happiness show a one-to-one mapping with specific regions in
the brain
b. *Specific individual emotions such as fear, sadness, and happiness do not show a one-to-one mapping with specific
regions in the brain
c. Specific emotions such as fear and happiness show a one-to-one mapping with specific regions in the brain but
emotions such as sadness or anxiety do not
d. None of the above
5. Brain areas involved in decoding emotional facial expressions include:
a. *The amygdala, the fusiform face area, and areas in visual cortex
b. The basal ganglia, the cerebellum, and the brainstem
c. The parietal lobe, the amygdala, and the pons
d. The amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, and area MT in visual cortex
6. Emotional contagion refers to:
a. The fact that some emotions are not well understood
b. *A phenomenon where people experience an automatic emotional response to a given emotional
expression in another person
c. A rare condition present in some individuals
d. A skill that develop slowly throughout life
7. The reason we are more apt to remember our wedding day or Senior Prom than any other given day in our past is theorized
to be due to:
50
a. The influence of the cerebellum in emotional memories
b. *The activation of the limbic system in storing and consolidating emotional memories
c. The hippocampus and the brainstem co-activating while storing emotional memories
d. The activation of the prefrontal cortex with the cerebellum in memory formation
8. Bipolar disorder, also referred to as manic-depressive disorder, is associated with large shifts in mood. The brain areas
implicated in Bipolar Disorder include:
a. The Fusiform Face area and the amygdala
b. The Prefrontal Cortex and the hippocampus
c. The hippocampus and the parietal lobe
d. *The amygdala and the Prefrontal Cortex
9. Drug addiction and alcohol addiction typically involves a continually-incurring cycle of:
a. Drug abuse, Depression, Craving, and Withdrawal
b. Craving, Bipolar Disorder, Drug Abuse, and Bingeing
c. *Intoxication, Bingeing, Withdrawal, and Craving
d. None of the above
10. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is:
a. Limited to individuals who serve in our armed forces
b. *Found in children as well as in adults
c. Have aftereffects of traumatic stress that disappear over time
d. Increased in individuals over the age of 70
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Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. Describe how emotions can be characterized as discrete or continuous.
emotions can be described along continuous dimensions such as positive or negative, pleasant or unpleasant; there are core,
discrete, basic emotions that are universal to human beings. These basic emotions typically include anger, fear, sadness,
enjoyment, disgust, and surprise (Ekman, 1992). The sense of the word basic is not to imply a strong sense of simplicity to these
powerful emotions, rather that they are fundamental to human life and the challenges it presents.
2. Where is the amygdala in the brain and what is its role in emotional processing?
Subcortical regions associated with emotional processing include the ‘key player’ in emotion, the amygdala (see AMY in Figure
11.6 in the text). The amygdala has reciprocal connections with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the hippocampus, there
are also reciprocal connections between the ACC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the ACC and the hippocampus,
and between the dlPFC and the hippocampus.
This highly interconnected set of regions in the frontal lobe and the subcortical amygdala along with the hippocampus in the
medial temporal lobe combines to form a network for emotional processing.
3. How are facial emotions processed? What brain areas are involved in decoding emotional facial expressions?
brain regions for decoding human faces are the fusiform face area (FFA), and other regions within the visual
system. The decoding of and recognition of emotional facial cues is a rapid process, with initial brain
responses arising within fractions of a second. These rapid responses include a wide range of brain regions
tuned to decoding emotional facial expressions, including the FFA, other visual areas in striate cortex, and the
amygdala (see Figure 11.14 in the text).
It may not be surprising that fearful facial expressions are extremely salient ones and are processed
somewhat differently than neutral facial expressions: since fearful faces carry important survival information,
it is no wonder they seem to have a expedited route through the brain! Vuilleumier & Pourtois (2007) used
fMRI to compare hemodynamic responses in the FFA to houses, neutral faces, and fearful faces. They found
that both neutral and fearful faces activated the FFA, as expected, while the images of houses did not (Figure
52
11.15). Critically, they found that the hemodynamic response for fearful faces was both more rapid and
larger/stronger than the neutral faces. This study provides evidence for our intuition – that a fearful face
gains access to our awareness and to our cognitive processes in a way that a neutral face does not.
Chapter 12: Sleep and Levels of Consciousness
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Which of the following are cognitive effects of sleep deprivation?
a. Reduced ability to concentrate
b. Difficulties in sustaining attention
c. Decreased working memory capacity
d. *All of the above
2. How is sleep studied?
a. Using a combination of brain waves (electroencephalogram, EEG), eye movement (electrooculography,
EOG), muscle movement (electromyography, EMG), and heart rhythms (electrocardiography, ECG) recordings
b. Using the polysomnogram
c. In Sleep Study Labs
d. *All of the above
3. How does Slow Wave Sleep differ from Rapid Eye Movement Sleep?
a. *Slow Wave Sleep involves a general slowing of brain activity while Rapid Eye Movement Sleep involves some
deactivated brain regions combined with some highly active brain regions
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b. Slow Wave Sleep involves some deactivated brain regions combined with some highly active brain regions while
Rapid Eye Movement Sleep involves a general slowing of brain activity
c. Slow Wave Sleep involves a temporary paralysis of muscle movement called atonia while Rapid Eye Movement
Sleep involves some spontaneous movement
d. Slow Wave Sleep includes most of the dreaming stages of sleep while Rapid Eye Movement Sleep rarely includes
dream stages
4. What brain areas are deactivated during Rapid Eye Movement Sleep vs. Waking?
a. The Prefrontal Cortex, the Amygdala, and the Brainstem
b. The Posterior Cingulate Cortex, the Primary Visual Cortex, and the Temporal Lobe
c. The Parietal Lobe, the Prefrontal Cortex, and the Posterior Cingulate Cortex
d. *The Prefrontal Cortex, the Posterior Cingulate Cortex, and Primary Visual Cortex
5. The brain area primarily involved in the 'temporary store' is:
a. The amygdala
b. The basal ganglia
c. *The hippocampus
d. Area MT in visual cortex
6. The brain area primarily involved in the 'long-term store' is:
a. The amygdala
b. The cerebellum
c. *The cortex
d. Area MT in visual cortex
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7. Which of the following are self-induced causes for insomnia?
a. Having drinks containing caffeine before going to bed
b. Using drugs such as cocaine
c. Working irregular shifts
d. *All of the above
8. During what sleep stage(s) does sleepwalking typically occur?
a. Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
b. *Slow Wave Sleep
c. Stage I Sleep
d. All of the above
9. Which of the following is a symptom of narcolepsy?
a. Daytime sleepiness
b. Hallucinations while rapidly falling asleep or awakening
c. Cataplexy
d. *All of the above
10. Which of the following is true of circadian rhythms?
a. *They begin to signal a shift towards sleep in a rhythmic way as the evening progresses from light to darkness
b. They shift during adolescence, with the typical adult circadian rhythm pattern shifting forward in time, thus the time
for high alertness moves from 10 am for adults to 8 am for adolescents
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c. They are referred to as Process S in the Two-Process Model for Sleep-Wake Regulation
d. All of the above
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. Give an example of a neuromodulator and describe its function in sleep.
Acetylcholine (ACh) functions as a modulator of arousal, memory, and attention during waking states. ACh is generated in the
brainstem in the Pedunculopontine nucleus and laterodorsal tegmental nucleus and in the frontal lobe in the Nucleus Basalis
(Figure 12.16 in the text). From these two regions, ACh pathways extend throughout the cortex and thalamus to have a major
effect on arousal levels. ACh levels are high during active wake states, they drop during NREM and SWS sleep, and then increase
again during REM. ACh increase during REM sleep is theorized to reflect the higher state of arousal that a sleeper experiences
during REM dreaming.
Or
Noradrenaline/norepinephrine are interchangeable terms for the same neuromodulator, abbreviated as NE. NE modulation
arouses the body and brain into action during times of stress: think of the role of adrenaline in the “fight or flight” situation
where the heart begins to beat more quickly and breathing becomes more rapid. In the brain, noradrenaline has a similar role of
increasing awareness and arousal. The central source of NE in the brain is in the locus coeruleus (LC) (see Figure 12.15 for a
sagittal view of the brain showing the LC). The LC has a key role in promoting wakefulness, thus it is not surprising that NE
modulation during NREM sleep is low and even lower during REM sleep (Figure 12.14). Serotonin levels also decrease during
REM sleep. The brain areas on the NE and serotonin pathways are shown in Figure 12.17, left and right panel respectively.
Serotonin originates in the Raphe´ nuclei in brainstem. Note that the brain views in Figure 12.17 are a coronal slice through the
brain. Compare the location of the LC in Figure 12.17 to the sagittal slice shown in Figure 12.15.
2. How does primary insomnia differ from secondary insomnia?
Some instances of insomnia are brief: these are called acute insomnia and can happen because of stress, work demands, or
emotional issues. However, when insomnia occurs for at least 3 days a week and lasts more than 3 months, it is called chronic
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insomnia. While some instance of insomnia occurs for almost half of all people, chronic insomnia is far less typical, occurring in
only about 10% of the population. Chronic insomnia can occur alongside emotional, neurodevelmental, and neurodegenerative
disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, and Parkinson’s disease.
Insomnia can be due to some medical reasons such as chronic pain, asthma, and heavy allergies (see Figure 12.28 in the text).
Understandably, all of these issues can cause disrupted sleep. Insomnia can also be the result of diet or medication – we all know
that caffeine can help wake us up on the morning, but it can also prevent us from falling asleep due to its blocking of adenosine.
Some medications taken for colds and allergies, high blood pressure, and heart disease can lead to insomnia. Insomnias
frequently go hand-in-hand with depression, anxiety, and chronic stress. In these cases, and in cases of individuals with
neurodevelopmental disorders, chronic insomnia may be related to a hyperarousal state in the brain (Maski & Owens, 2016).
When insomnia occurs and induced factors (such as sleep hygiene) and secondary factors (such as a diagnosis of depression)
have all been ruled out, it is called primary insomnia -- meaning that the sleep problem is due to factors directly to sleep
modulation and not to other life-style or diagnosed issues.
3. How does the concept of ‘memory evolution’ differ from ‘memory consolidation’?
Reflecting the complexity of human memories and how they are modified during sleep, new terms are being used currently that
better describe what is actually thought to be occurring in the stabilizing and integrating processes. One such term is memory
evolution rather than consolidation. This term better describes the concept that not only do new memories get integrated into the
existing memory store, but old memories can be changed or forgotten during these processes as well – thus memory can evolve
over time.
Chapter 13: Disorders of Consciousness
Multiple Choice Questions (1-10)
1. Unconsciousness can be separated into two broad types:
a. Dreaming and non-dreaming
b. *Reversible and non-reversible
c. Waking and Dreaming
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d. Wakefulness and Sleeping
2. Which of the following is the best definition of 'Disorders of Consciousness'?
a. Unconscious states that occur each night during sleep
b. Conscious states that are disordered
c. *Potentially non-reversible unconscious states due to brain trauma or damage.
d. Potentially reversible conscious states due to disease
3. Which of the following is an example of 'reversible unconsciousness'?
a. Slow Wave Sleep
b. Anesthesia
c. Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
d. *All of the above
4. A coma state is characterized by:
a. Lack of sleep-wake cycles
b. Severe damage to both hemispheres of the cortex, both thalami, and the brainstem
c. Complete loss of spontaneous arousal
d. *All of the above
5. Which of the following is a key difference in brain processes during Slow Wave Sleep versus anesthesia?
a. *Anesthesia contains many substances including agents that produce memory loss while Slow Wave Sleep does not
include the production of memory loss
b. Slow Wave Sleep slows down brain processes throughout the brain while anesthesia slows down brain processes just
in the cortex
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c. Slow Wave Sleep induces atonia, a brief paralysis, while anesthesia does not
d. All of the above
6. The Vegetative State differs from the Coma State in that: it is characterized by:
a. Complete loss of spontaneous arousal
b. *Spontaneous eye-opening without evidence of awareness
c. Damage to the hippocampus
d. Low levels of wakefulness combined with high levels of awareness
7. The Locked-in Syndrome is:
a. Not actually a Disorder of Consciousness
b. Characterized by intact cognition
c. Typically has damage to the brainstem but with an intact cortex
d. *All of the above
8. Studies of patients with a Disorder of Consciousness reveal:
a. *Differences in brain metabolism across key cortical regions versus healthy individuals
b. Most patients show active cognitive function despite being unconscious
c. Similar levels of Wakefulness and Awareness for all Disorders of Consciousness patients
d. All of the above
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9. For a healthy individual, which regions of the brain are most highly active from a metabolic perspective?
a. The brainstem and the Prefrontal cortex
b. The Prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus
c. *The precuneus and the posterior cingulate cortex
d. The precuneus and the parietal lobe
10. Which of the following is a key motivation for studying brain activity in patients with a Disorder of Consciousness?
a. To aid in making end-of-life decisions
b. To better understand the cognitive state of an unconscious patient
c. To guide in predicting recovery potential of an unconscious patient
d. *All of the above
Short Answer Questions (1-3)
1. If a patient is in a coma, what are possible transitions that patient may make in the future?
The coma state is usually the initial state caused by severe damage to both hemispheres of the cortex, both of the thalami, and
brainstem damage (see Figure 13.4 in the text). Coma is defined by the complete loss of spontaneous arousal (Figure 13.5). No
sleep-wake cycles are evident as measured by EEG. Eyes remain closed continuously. There is no speech and no purposeful
motor activity. The coma state usually resolves within 2 weeks of the injury and the patient transitions into either a vegetative
state (VS) or a minimally conscious state (MCS).
The coma state is usually the initial state caused by severe damage to both hemispheres of the cortex, both of
the thalami, and brainstem damage .
the feature of coma is the complete loss of spontaneous arousal , no
speech and no purposeful motor activity. No sleep-wake cycles ,
Eyes remain closed continuously.
The coma state usually resolves within 2 weeks of the injury and the patient transitions into either a
vegetative state (VS) or a minimally conscious state (MCS).
2. How is a locked-in syndrome patient different from a minimally conscious patient? How are they alike?
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A minimally conscious state includes eye-opening as in Vegetative State, however that wakefulness sign is coupled with some
receptive and expressive language function, some command following behavior, visual pursuit of a moving object, and some
automatic motor movement sequences. There are some inconsistent or intermittent awareness of self in a MCS patient
(see Figure 13.5 in the text). They may show occasional signs of purposeful movements, for example reaching for a glass, but
these response are usually inconsistent and may not be reproducible.
By contrast, a Locked-in (LI) syndrome patient does not have a Disorder of Consciousness. A LI patient typically has brain
damage however it is limited to the brainstem region and the cortex is largely unaffected. But with almost complete paralysis of
all voluntary muscles, including those responsible for speech and movement. and the only voluntary movement available to the LI
patient is eye opening and fluttering. However, unlike the eye-opening observed in a minimal conscious state, eye-opening and
eye fluttering in LI reflects a high level of awareness and wakefulness. the patient is locked-in with their brain function intact and
no way to communicate this to the treatment providers and family.
Thus, a LI patient will be physically paralyzed and unable to move other than some eye movements, however unlike the minimal
conscious state patient, the LI patient has full cognitive capacity.
3. Why is it difficult to diagnose a particular Disorder of Consciousness using bedside/observational techniques?
Bedside assessments of DOC can be difficult due to the wide variability actually observed in patients coupled with the changes
that may be occurring as they transition between DOC states. Many aspects of the patient's actual cognition and state of
awareness are opaque to the treating clinicians: they cannot easily discern what a comatose or Vegetative State patient is
experiencing inwardly. It is even more difficult to recognize a Locked-in Syndrome patient from a minimal conscious patient.
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