Exam 4: Evolution of Brain and Function

Both bats and birds inherited forelimbs from a common ancestor, but each developed wings separately; thus, the forelimbs are _____ similarities, whereas the wings are _____ similarities.

The frequencies of light that our visual system is most sensitive to are those that are least affected when they pass through

Although humans do not have the largest brain in either absolute or relative terms, they do have the largest number of _____ neurons.

It is thought that brains first appeared about _____ million years ago.

Discuss the factors that drove the evolution of larger brains in mammals. What is the relationship between brain size and intelligence?

Which of the following is NOT one of the lobes of the brain?

Although mammals have been seen as evolving from reptiles, there are three types of behavior seen in mammals but not in reptiles. Which of the following is NOT one of these mammal-specific behaviors?

According to Humphrey, there is a dynamic tension in social groups that leads to both cooperation and competition. As individuals seek both to preserve the overall structure of the group and outmaneuver others within in, the intelligence of the species increases over evolutionary time. This ideas is known as the _____ hypothesis.

In studies of social intelligence in primates, group size alone has not been shown to be strongly correlated with brain size; however, Dunbar did find a positive correlation between _____ and relative brain size.

_____ are made up of fats and proteins, and they wrap around axons like insulation does around electrical cables, resulting in increased speed of information transmission.

Even simple organisms such as single-cell protozoa share sophisticated behavior processes with higher-level organisms. Which of the following is NOT one such behavior?

When we are watching someone perform a task, there are neurons in specific areas of our brain that fire as if we were performing the task ourselves; these are called _____ and may be involved in observational learning as well as the development of an understanding of others.

Discuss hominin evolution.

The depressions or fissures on the surface of the brain are called _____.

One approach to studying brain evolution and size examines the relationship between specific behaviors and the underlying cortical structures; this is known as the _____ approach.

The _____ includes regions devoted to sensory and motor processing and higher cognitive processes; it both sends and receives information from different areas within itself and to and from subcortical structures.

Researchers have found that absolute brain size is not a good predictor of mental abilities; rather, we need to consider brain weight in relation to body weight, a measure known as the _____.

The third level of the triune brain is the _____ brain, which includes the neocortex and thalamic structures; this level is generally associated with problem solving, executive control, and an orientation toward the external world with an emphasis on linguistic functions.

About 14 days following conception, a process referred to as _____ occurs, which leads to the development of three different cell lines from undifferentiated embryonic tissue.

Hughling Jackson proposed that higher-level brain structures, which evolved later than the reflexive ones, serve the purpose of inhibiting and modulating these basic reflexes. This principle is known as ______.