Deck 13: Human Communication

Question 1

Which of the following is a primary disturbance in comprehension or production of speech that is often caused by brain damage?

A) alexia
B) dysgraphia
C) aphasia
D) agraphia
E) autism

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A person with damage to the right hemisphere would have the most difficulty in

A) reading complex written instructions.
B) understanding the emotional state of a speaker.
C) producing speech.
D) moving the right hand and the right leg.
E) spelling complicated technical words.

Answer 2

B
Explanation: A person with damage to the right hemisphere would have the most difficulty in understanding the emotional state of a speaker.

Question 3

______ reflects a(n)______ in the production or comprehension of speech.

A) Agraphia; deficit
B) Aphasia; enhancement
C) Alexia; enhancement
D) Alexia; enhancement
E) Aphasia; deficit

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following would not be considered to be an example of aphasia?

A) Speech production difficulty after brain damage.
B) A stroke involving the left hemisphere impairs speech production.
C) Impaired language comprehension after years of excessive alcohol consumption.
D) Impaired language comprehension in a college sophomore after a single night of drinking during spring break.
E) Speech difficulty produced by paralysis of the vocal cords.

Question 5

Verbal behavior is said to be a lateralized function of the left hemisphere in that

A) most language problems are noted after damage to the right rather than the left hemisphere.
B) most language problems are noted after damage to the left rather than the right hemisphere.
C) right-handed persons are more likely to have their language center located within the right hemisphere.
D) electrical stimulation of the left hemisphere has a smaller effect on language than does similar stimulation of the right hemisphere.
E) most persons show a greater movement of the lips on the right side of their mouth during speech.

Question 6

The key function of human verbal behavior is to

A) have behavioral effects on others.
B) allow us to protect our property from others.
C) allow us to hide our emotions..
D) convey information about our environment..
E) locate objects in space.

Question 7

________ are examples of function words,while ________ are examples of content words.

A) "Some" and "the"; "apple" and "fail"
B) "Throw" and "heave"; "some" and "the"
C) "Apple" and "fail"; "some" and "the"
D) "Person" and "difficult"; "a" and "in"
E) "Some" and "the"; "a" and "in"

Question 8

The left hemisphere is better than the right hemisphere at

A) recognizing the emotional tone in a voice.
B) assembling a narrative of what we want to say.
C) perceiving spatial relationships.
D) production and analysis of speech.
E) controlling speech sounds that comprise prosody.

Question 9

People with Broca's aphasia have difficulty

A) writing words on paper.
B) spelling simple words.
C) understanding speech.
D) producing speech.
E) recognizing the emotional content of speech.

Question 10

A key source of our knowledge about the physiology of language is studies of

A) blood flow to language areas in intact, normal people while they are talking.
B) non-human primates.
C) people who have suffered brain damage.
D) patients with brain tumors.
E) changes in verbal behavior after the consumption of drugs such as alcohol.

Question 11

A person suffering from Broca's aphasia would be expected to

A) show great difficulty in articulating words.
B) easily articulate words like "cigarette."
C) show fluent, articulate speech.
D) be unable to answer yes or no questions about object functions.
E) be unable to read.

Question 12

Damage to the right hemisphere would likely interfere with which function?

A) producing speech
B) understanding speech
C) moving the right hand
D) reading complex written instructions
E) using prosody cues in speech to communicate your emotional state to others

Question 13

Which of the following is true of handedness and hemispheric speech dominance?

A) Over 90 percent of the population shows right-hemisphere dominance for speech.
B) Left-hemisphere speech dominance is noted in 50 percent of right-handed people.
C) Left-hemisphere speech dominance is noted in 50 percent of ambidextrous people.
D) Over 90 percent of the population shows left-hemisphere dominance for speech.
E) Right hemisphere damage does not alter speech in left-handed people.

Question 14

In the study of handedness and hemispheric speech lateralization,what measure was used to determine hemispheric dominance?

A) changes in cerebral blood flow
B) accumulation of radioactive 2-DG in neurons
C) PET scans of brain activity
D) MRI scans of brain activity
E) EEG studies of brain activity

Question 15

Speech starts with decisions as to what will be said and can involve our current or past perceptions.The brain regions that are responsible for having something to say would be those located

A) in the primary motor cortex.
B) distal to the hippocampus.
C) in the posterior portions of the occipital, temporal, and parietal lobes.
D) on either side of the corpus callosum.
E) in the anterior portions of the cerebral hemispheres.

Question 16

People with Broca's aphasia would have the most difficulty

A) spelling content words.
B) saying function words.
C) reading a map.
D) recognizing complex geometrical forms.
E) saying content words.

Question 17

Which of the following is a reliable means by which to determine which side of the brain is dominant for speech?

A) Ask whether an individual is left-handed or right-handed.
B) Watch the direction of eye movement when a person thinks of a purely linguistic question.
C) Assess changes in cerebral blood flow during verbal behavior.
D) Administer a CT scan.
E) Note in which hand the person holds a book while reading aloud.

Question 18

Damage to the right hemisphere would likely interfere with which function?

A) moving the right hand
B) understanding speech
C) producing speech
D) reading complex written instructions
E) reading a map

Question 19

Imagine that you could interview Mr.S.,the central character of the communication chapter prologue.Which of the following would be true of his capacity to interact with you?

A) He would be unable to hear non-speech sounds.
B) He would be unable to answer verbal questions.
C) He would be unable to recall information he learned prior to his stroke.
D) His short-term memory would be impaired.
E) He could not answer written questions.

Question 20

The most recent source of information about the physiology of language is from

A) studies of autistic children.
B) functional imaging of brain activity during verbal behavior in normal subjects.
C) studies of persons with stroke.
D) studies of verbal behavior in persons with brain lesions.
E) studies using electrical stimulation on verbal behavior in seizure patients.

Question 21

Wernicke's aphasia is caused by damage to

A) the frontal association cortex of the right hemisphere.
B) Broca's area and the caudate nucleus.
C) the superior temporal gyrus of the left hemisphere.
D) the inferior occipital gyrus of the right hemisphere.
E) the left parietal lobe.

Question 22

Which of the following is a central feature of aphasia?

A) averbia
B) speech comprehension difficulties
C) difficulty in using action words
D) anomia
E) spelling disorder

Question 23

Damage to the ________ causes transcortical sensory aphasia.

A) posterior language area
B) prefrontal cortex
C) primary auditory cortex
D) Broca's area
E) Wernicke's area

Question 24

People who have Broca's aphasia

A) have difficulty comprehending speech meaning using word order.
B) seem unaware of their difficulties.
C) have sustained damage to their right frontal lobe.
D) can pronounce words correctly, but slowly.
E) produce fluent, but meaningless speech.

Question 25

Which of the following speech deficits is a common feature of all forms of aphasia?

A) agrammatism
B) articulation difficulties
C) dysgraphia
D) anomia
E) Averbia

Question 26

Which of the following can be used to test speech comprehension in Wernicke's aphasia?

A) Ask the person to use content words.
B) Ask the person to use function words.
C) Ask the person about his or her childhood memories.
D) Ask the person to read a book.
E) Ask the person to point to an object on a table.

Question 27

Which of the following is an important implication of transcortical sensory aphasia?

A) Speech recognition comes after speech comprehension.
B) The lateral temporal lobe is key for speech repetition.
C) The periaqueductal gray matter is not important for speech repetition.
D) Speech recognition and comprehension are different processes.
E) Speech articulation and spelling words share a similar set of circuits in brain.

Question 28

The formal name for the disorder suffered by Mr.S.in the chapter prologue was

A) Broca's aphasia.
B) pure word deafness.
C) alexia.
D) Wernicke's aphasia.
E) orthographic dysgraphia.

Question 29

A primary characteristic of Wernicke's aphasia is

A) effortless production of meaningless speech.
B) fumbling for the right word.
C) labored and nonfluent speech.
D) unemotional speech.
E) mutism.

Question 30

Anomia refers to

A) a difficulty in choosing the right word in a sentence.
B) the primary symptom of Broca's, but not Wernicke's, aphasia.
C) a difficulty in pronunciation of words in a sentence.
D) poor word comprehension.
E) an impairment in the spelling of words.

Question 31

The key brain regions involved in Broca's aphasia is/are

A) portions of the planum temporale.
B) left posterior cerebral cortex.
C) the arcuate fasciculus.
D) inferior right frontal lobe.
E) inferior left frontal lobe.

Question 32

One way to think about Wernicke's aphasia is that this syndrome is

A) a mixture of transcortical sensory aphasia less pure word deafness.
B) a mixture of Broca's disorder and alexia.
C) a mixture of pure word deafness and transcortical sensory aphasia.
D) a mixture of pure word deafness and alexia.
E) produced by damage to the connections of the posterior language area.

Question 33

An example of a receptive aphasia is

A) Broca's aphasia.
B) apraxia.
C) alexia.
D) Wernicke's aphasia.
E) orthographic dysgraphia.

Question 34

A person with pure word deafness can do all of the following except

A) read lips.
B) understand the emotion expressed in speech.
C) read and write.
D) recognize nonspeech sounds such as a dog barking.
E) comprehend speech.

Question 35

An individual with Wernicke's aphasia

A) is aware of her or his deficits in speech.
B) has major difficulty in understanding speech.
C) cannot use function words.
D) cannot use prepositions.
E) cannot convey emotion via prosody.

Question 36

The KE family is remarkable in that their speech disorder has been linked to

A) a single gene on chromosome 7.
B) abnormal neural development of the posterior association cortex.
C) abnormal neural development of the right frontal cortex.
D) the use of recreational drugs such as cocaine and alcohol.
E) a single gene on chromosome 21.

Question 37

A person with pure word deafness is unable to

A) comprehend speech.
B) read lips.
C) speak.
D) understand non-speech sounds.
E) hear.

Question 38

Someone who has transcortical sensory aphasia would be

A) unable to understand speech.
B) able to repeat what someone else said.
C) able to produce his or her own spontaneous speech.
D) unable to answer questions.
E) able to follow verbal commands.

Question 39

Damage to portions of the left temporal lobe produces a problem in

A) hearing.
B) recognizing non-speech sounds.
C) reading lips.
D) speaking.
E) understanding speech.

Question 40

A person who has difficulties in the use of word order,use of function words,and selection of appropriate word endings would be said to have

A) averbia.
B) anosmia.
C) agrammatism.
D) articulation disorder.
E) anomia.

Question 41

Patients with pure anomia aphasia have difficulty in

A) repeating words.
B) producing fluent speech.
C) comprehension.
D) choosing the correct words to express an idea.
E) repeating nonwords.

Question 42

The inability to recognize the voice of another person is termed

A) categorical aphasia.
B) prosopagnosia.
C) phonagnosia.
D) somatopagnosia.
E) autotopagnosia.

Question 43

Which of the following is true of stuttering?

A) Stuttering is more common in women.
B) Damage to speech motor programs produces stuttering.
C) Stuttering affects 1 in 1000 people.
D) Stuttering may involve faulty feedback of speech sounds on the auditory system.
E) Stuttering is influenced by environmental factors.

Question 44

A person who has pure alexia

A) cannot read, but can recognize words spelled aloud.
B) is unable to write.
C) would also have agraphia.
D) is usually unable to choose appropriate words.
E) suffers from a pure form of aphasia.

Question 45

Someone with conduction aphasia is unable to

A) name proper nouns.
B) repeat nonwords.
C) repeat words that have familiar meanings.
D) name objects.
E) produce fluent spontaneous speech.

Question 46

Studies of patients with conduction aphasia have led to which of the following conclusions about the neural control of language?

A) The parietal lobe analyzes the sounds of words.
B) Wernicke's aphasia is not a form of receptive aphasia.
C) There are different neural paths for sounds and for meanings of words.
D) The meanings of words are stored in the right parietal cortex.
E) The arcuate fasciculus sends information about the meaning of words to the frontal lobes.

Question 47

Pure alexia refers to

A) the inability to write.
B) the inability to perceive words.
C) word deafness.
D) difficulties in spelling.
E) pure word blindness.

Question 48

The inability to recognize the face of another person is termed

A) categorical aphasia.
B) prosopagnosia.
C) anomia.
D) somatopagnosia.
E) autotopagnosia.

Question 49

Damage to the right hemisphere impairs the production of prosody in that

A) prosody involves spatial perception.
B) the right hemisphere controls the vocal cords.
C) prosody uses spatial cues to communicate meaning.
D) prosody resembles singing and communicates emotion.
E) the right hemisphere is specialized for the analysis of word meaning.

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT an example of prosody?

A) changes in speech rhythm
B) variation in the loudness of speech
C) using a hand gesture to make a point while talking
D) variation in the voice tone
E) variation of voice pitch

Question 51

A person who sustains damage to the ________ will be unable to ________.

A) arcuate fasciculus; repeat nonwords
B) posterior commissure; name objects
C) arcuate fasciculus; comprehend speech
D) right temporal pole; produce fluent spontaneous speech
E) right temporal pole; name objects

Question 52

A person who sustains damage to the ________ would be expected to show ________.

A) insular cortex; averbia
B) occipital cortex; hemiparesis
C) frontal cortex; anomia
D) frontal cortex near Broca's area; averbia
E) right posterior parietal cortex; anomia

Question 53

The normal rhythm and stress found in speech is called

A) prosody.
B) aural intonation.
C) circumlocution.
D) syntax.
E) grammatical flow.

Question 54

A direct neural connection between Broca's area and Wernicke's area is provided by the

A) stria teminalis.
B) anterior commissure.
C) corpus callosum.
D) fornix.
E) arcuate fasciculus.

Question 55

Pure alexia is most similar to

A) Wernicke's aphasia.
B) direct dyslexia.
C) pure word deafness.
D) Broca's aphasia.
E) surface dyslexia.

Question 56

A person who is viewing and imitating sign language would be expected to show activation of

A) Wernicke's area.
B) the arcuate fasciculus.
C) the hippocampus.
D) Broca's area.
E) the fornix.

Question 57

Damage to which of the following brain regions produces an inability to recognize the voice of another person??

A) left frontal lobe
B) left parietal lobe
C) primary visual cortex
D) posterior language area
E) right anterior superior temporal cortex

Question 58

The inability to remember the name for a particular action is

A) alexia.
B) dysgraphia.
C) aphasia.
D) dyslexia.
E) averbia.

Question 59

The meanings of words are most likely stored in

A) the association cortex.
B) Wernicke's area.
C) the primary auditory cortex.
D) Broca's area.
E) the lateral temporal cortex.

Question 60

Impairment of reading in pure alexia results from damage to the ________ and the ________.

A) posterior corpus callosum; right frontal cortex
B) right visual cortex; anterior fornix
C) left visual cortex; posterior corpus callosum
D) right visual cortex; anterior corpus callosum
E) amygdala; hippocampus

Question 61

________ refers to a deficit in ________.

A) Direct dysgraphia; phonetically based reading
B) Direct dyslexia; phonetically based reading
C) Phonological dysgraphia; visually based writing
D) Semantic dysgraphia; symbol recognition
E) Orthographic dysgraphia; visually based writing

Question 62

A Japanese person who suffers from surface dyslexia would be expected to

A) have difficulty in reading kanji symbols.
B) be unable to name familiar objects.
C) be unable to read at all.
D) have difficulty in reading kana symbols.
E) be unable to use prosody in their speech.

Question 63

Acquired dyslexia refers to a reading difficulty that

A) develops in utero.
B) is caused by nutritional deficits.
C) results from brain damage after the person has learned to read.
D) involves genetic changes in brain circuitry.
E) is produced by unsupportive and abusive parents.

Question 64

Individuals with surface dyslexia

A) cannot read.
B) have a deficit in whole-word reading.
C) cannot understand the meaning of words.
D) cannot recognize individual letters.
E) cannot sound out words.

Question 65

A key difference between visual agnosia and pure alexia is that

A) a person with visual agnosia can still read.
B) alexia disrupts spelling but not reading.
C) pure alexia impairs the ability to recognize objects.
D) a person with visual agnosia is unable to read.
E) pure alexia impairs the ability to name objects.

Question 66

Developmental dyslexia involves

A) a genetic disorder.
B) a difficulty in acquiring language skills.
C) decreases in gray matter in many brain areas.
D) a loss of cells in the magnocellular visual system.
E) All of the above are correct.

Question 67

Direct dyslexia is similar to ________,but involving ________.

A) transcortical sensory aphasia; spoken words
B) Broca's aphasia; spoken words
C) transcortical sensory aphasia; written words
D) Broca's aphasia; sounds
E) Wernicke's aphasia; written words

Question 68

Speech is lateralized in the right hemisphere in the majority of left-handed people.

Question 69

Pure alexia is produced by damage to pathways that carry ________ information to ________.

A) auditory; Broca's area
B) visual; the right extrastriate cortex
C) visual; the left extrastriate cortex
D) auditory; the right striate cortex
E) auditory; Wernicke's area

Question 70

Whole-word reading involves activation of the ________ leading to the ________.

A) dorsal stream; region of Broca's area
B) ventral stream; fusiform gyrus
C) ventral stream; region of Broca's area
D) dorsal stream; fusiform gyrus
E) right frontal lobe; corpus callosum

Question 71

Reading a word aloud requires

A) that auditory input project to the right frontal lobe.
B) that visual input project to the right frontal lobe.
C) that visual input project though the anterior corpus callosum to the posterior right hemisphere.
D) that visual input travel from the posterior corpus callosum to the posterior left hemisphere.
E) crossover of visual information at the corpus callosum.

Question 72

The motor aspects of writing are controlled by the

A) ventral parietal lobe.
B) dorsal parietal lobe.
C) orbiofrontal cortex.
D) insular cortex.
E) inferior temporal cortex.

Question 73

A key function of language is the communication of knowledge from one generation to another.

Question 74

Dyslexia refers to

A) faulty reading.
B) a speech impediment.
C) an inability to communicate via sign language.
D) word blindness.
E) poor penmanship.

Question 75

Patients with ________ dyslexia are able to read aloud,but do not understand what they are reading.

A) spelling
B) direct
C) surface
D) genetic
E) whole-sentence

Question 76

Which of the following is true of the Japanese language?

A) Kanji symbols follow precise pronunciation rules.
B) Kana symbols are a visual representation of a concept.
C) Kanji symbols are a visual representation of a vowel or syllable.
D) Kanji symbols are a visual representation of a concept.
E) Difficulty in reading kana symbols is analogous to surface dyslexia.

Question 77

The general term used to refer to an impairment of writing is

A) dysgraphia.
B) dystypia.
C) orthographia.
D) dyslexia.
E) alexia.

Question 78

The information conveyed in a spoken word resides in its

A) timing.
B) pitch.
C) emphasis.
D) tempo.
E) prosody.

Question 79

The key aspect of sound that allows a person to recognize a word resides in

A) the pitch of the voice.
B) the short-duration starts and stops of speech sounds.
C) slow changes in speech rhythm.
D) tone of the speech.
E) prosody cues.

Question 80

Individuals with phonological dyslexia have difficulty

A) reading for comprehension.
B) in silent reading.
C) reading unfamiliar words.
D) reading aloud.
E) in whole word reading, but can sound out familiar words.