Deck 25: Constructing Perception

Question 1

A chimpanzee is trained to reach a bunch of bananas suspended from the ceiling by using a ladder. On subsequent trials, the ladder is replaced with a chair and a stack of crates, placed in the room, but not directly underneath the bananas and either of which, the chimpanzee must now use to solve the problem of getting the bananas. This is an example of

A) cognitive processing.
B) generalization.
C) deduction.
D) induction.
E) instinct.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The conversion of an image on the retina and then on the visual cortex into something meaningful on the posterior parietal cortex is an example of

A) generalization.
B) cognition.
C) intracortical processing.
D) Abstraction.
E) Learning and memory.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In the vibrational comparison task, monkeys were to discriminate between two different stimuli frequencies applied to a fingertip. The greater the _______ between the baseline and a test stimulus, the better the performance.

A) difference
B) magnitude
C) intensity
D) difference in type of stimulus
E) difference in origin of stimulus

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Besides varying the comparison frequency with respect to the baseline frequency, what other parameter is a valid measure of the subject being able to discriminate between presentation of the baseline and comparison frequencies?

A) Adding a visual stimulus between presentation of the baseline and that of the comparison frequencies
B) Adding an auditory stimulus between presentation of the baseline and that of the comparison frequencies
C) Varying the interval between presentation of the baseline and that of the comparison frequencies
D) Varying the intensities of the comparison frequencies
E) Varying the duration of the comparison frequencies

Question 5

Neuronal firing rate of S1 neurons at the baseline stimulus of 20 Hz, meant that the monkey judged the comparison frequency as being different from the former approximately _______ of the time.

A) 10 %
B) 20 %
C) 40 %
D) 80 %
E) 100 %

Question 6

Perception or judgment (psychometric) of differences between the baseline and comparison frequencies vs. the SI neuronal response (neurometric) were greatest at approximately

A) 10 Hz
B) 15 Hz
C) 25 Hz
D) 30 Hz
E) 15 and 30 Hz

Question 7

Clinically, the vibrational comparison experiments have application for the treatment of symptoms of

A) stroke.
B) Alzheimer's disease.
C) spinal cord injury.
D) rash associated with chickenpox.
E) third-degree burns.

Question 8

Vibrational comparison experiments of the type described in the textbook can also be used as a diagnostic tool for

A) severe burns.
B) diabetes.
C) Parkinson's disease.
D) Alzheimer's disease.
E) severe itching.

Question 9

The primary motor cortex is the _______ cortical area to receive input and whose neurons send axons to the ventral horn of the spinal cord.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth
E) final

Question 10

The neuronal indication that the monkey is deciding how much two different stimuli (frequencies) differ is indicated by

A) how close the neurons are anatomically.
B) how close the various brain nuclei are anatomically.
C) how morphologically similar they are.
D) how small the error is on the regression line on which the difference lies.
E) the judgment the neuron is making.

Question 11

During the interval between the first and the second stimulus, which neurons respond the least?

A) S1 cortex
B) S2 cortex
C) Prefrontal cortex
D) Premotor cortex
E) Primary motor cortex

Question 12

As the stimuli move from S1 into S2, and then to the prefrontal cortex and then the premotor cortex, which of the following increases?

A) Latency
B) Discharge rate
C) Frequency
D) Mixture of positive vs. negative responding
E) Mixture of excitation vs. inhibition

Question 13

In the model, r = b + a₁f₁ + a₂f₂, [where r = firing rate, b = background firing rate, a = coefficient of a neuron's discharge rate, f₁ = baseline frequency and f₂ = comparison stimulus frequency], in which brain area does a vary the most?

A) S1 cortex
B) S2 cortex
C) Medial prefrontal cortex
D) Medial premotor cortex
E) Primary motor cortex

Question 14

Which of the five cortical regions in the vibrational comparison task is likely to make the most errors?

A) S1 cortex
B) S2 cortex
C) Medial prefrontal cortex
D) Medial premotor cortex
E) Primary motor cortex

Question 15

A higher error rate in making a decision about whether a second stimulus (f₂) is different from the first baseline stimulus (f₁) is most likely to occur if

A) f₁ is somehow corrupted.
B) f₁ is not salient (meaningful) enough.
C) f₂ is somehow corrupted.
D) (f₁ - f₂) is large; i.e., there is a long delay between the two stimuli.
E) (f₁ - f₂) is small; i.e., there is a short delay between the two stimuli.

Question 16

Which of the following is characteristic of the dorsal stream?

A) Object identification
B) Scenery identification
C) Object saliency
D) Scenery saliency
E) Object movement

Question 17

Which cortex belongs to both the ventral and dorsal pathways?

A) V2 cortex
B) V4 cortex
C) Posterior inferotemporal cortex
D) Anterior inferotemporal cortex
E) Posterior parietal cortex

Question 18

In the macaque brain, which part of the ventral stream seems to be the largest?

A) V1 cortex
B) V2 cortex
C) Posterior part of the inferotemporal cortex
D) Anterior part of the inferotemporal cortex
E) They are all about the same size.

Question 19

If the ventral pathway were ablated between V2 and not allowed to proceed further down the ventral stream, what would happen to object saliency?

A) We would still be able to recognize an object only if we have prior experience with it.
B) We would be able to recognize the form (shape) of an object, but none of its substance (usefulness).
C) We would be able to recognize the form of an object, but not its color.
D) We would not be able to recognize an object regardless.
E) We could see only a part of the object.

Question 20

People with visual agnosia have problems with _______ once-familiar objects.

A) locating
B) using
C) identifying
D) recognizing form and color of
E) manipulating

Question 21

The further away from V1 or the further along the ventral visual pathway the lesion is, the _______ is the deficit.

A) less severe
B) more severe
C) more complicated
D) more debilitating
E) more letha22

Question 22

Electrical microstimulation of face-selective neurons in the brains of monkeys while they were looking at a noisy visual images (stimulus) increased the probability that the monkey

A) reacted violently.
B) reacted as if being threatened.
C) passively withdrew.
D) reacted as if it recognized an image in the stimulus as being a face.
E) reacted as if it recognized an image in the stimulus as being a face, but only if the face belonged to someone that the monkey knew.

Question 23

Functional MRI experiments indicated that saliency of a collection of visual stimuli was positively correlated with _______ in the occipito-termporal stream.

A) metabolic activity
B) action potentials
C) white matter
D) grey matter
E) calcium currents

Question 24

The parahippocampal place area (PPA) is a cortical extension of the _______, a limbic structure involved in memory and spatial navigation.

A) V1 cortex
B) V2 cortex
C) hippocampus
D) temporal cortex
E) auditory cortex

Question 25

What is one probable function of the parahippocampal place area (PPA) in the recognition of faces?

A) To act as a back-up for the fusiform face area
B) To provide neuronal activity background to the fusiform face area
C) To provide context (e.g., building, landscape) in which to aid the fusiform face area in recognizing faces
D) To provide an emotional context to the fusiform face area, thereby aiding in recognition of faces
E) The FFA projects to the PPA for further cognitive processing, in case the original face being recognized has been altered, say, by time or other physical means

Question 26

How do inferotemporal cortical neurons respond to repeated exposure to the same visual stimulus, which is only slightly altered with each presentation?

A) The neurons become increasingly more active across trials.
B) The neurons become increasingly more active across trials but then plateau (sustained level of responding).
C) The neurons become increasingly less active across trials.
D) The neurons become increasingly less active across trials until some low steady-state level is reached.
E) The neurons immediately stop responding.

Question 27

Regardless of the context, angle, size, color, lighting, or clarity of an image of an object, we are still able to recognize that object. This is because the inferotemporal cortex

A) keeps a record of all possible permutations of the aforementioned properties of an object.
B) is able to dynamically change the activity of its many neuronal subsets, depending on the version of the object that is presented.
C) is highly plastic and is able to change its cortical volume, depending of the version of the object that is presented.
D) is able to increase its firing rate of a subset of ITC neurons indefinitely while decreasing the firing rate of other subsets every time a new version of the same object is presented.
E) is able to lower its firing rate or adapt, as long as none of the many versions of the same object does not stray too far from the percept of what the object is supposed to be.

Question 28

Magnocellular cells originate in the

A) retina.
B) lateral geniculate nucleus.
C) V1 cortex.
D) V2 cortex.
E) medial temporal lobe.

Question 29

Which of the following pathways is critical for the ability to detect motion?

A) Retina to V1 to V2 to lateral geniculate to medial temporal lobe
B) Retina to V1 to V2 to posterior parietal cortex to medial temporal lobe
C) Retina to lateral geniculate to V1 to V2 to posterior parietal cortex to medial temporal lobe
D) Retinal to lateral geniculate to V1 to V2 to medial temporal cortex to posterior parietal cortex
E) Retina to V1 to V2 to lateral geniculate to posterior parietal cortex to medial temporal cortex

Question 30

Monkeys are made to track a moving red dot as a stimulus when they were electrically microstimulated during presentation of the sample stimulus during a pre-determined period. Recordings of the _______ of medial temporal neurons were made in any one of four orthogonal directions (Cartesian coordinates).

A) calcium currents
B) dendritic arborizations
C) firing rate
D) neurotransmitter release rate
E) excitatory postsynaptic potentials

Question 31

If you are watching a mouse navigate a maze, the mouse is a moving object whose movements are unpredictable. Which part of your visual system will be involved in analyzing the mouse's movements?

A) Lateral geniculate nucleus
B) Posterior medial temporal lobe
C) V1 cortex
D) V2 cortex
E) Retina

Question 32

Medial temporal neurons compute direction of motion using vectors, which are

A) added geometrically.
B) added algebraically.
C) added arithmetically (which also involves subtraction).
D) added by any means, depending on the distance travelled by the moving object.
E) not really known-this knowledge requires complex cellular studies on M cells in the medial temporal cortex.

Question 33

The final structure in which an image is consolidated and recognized as being familiar or not occurs in the

A) V1 cortex.
B) V2 cortex.
C) medial prefrontal cortex.
D) medial premotor cortex.
E) anterior temporal lobe.

Question 34

An image that is flashed in front of a subject for as briefly as 50 ms is still enough time for the subject to extract from it meaningful information, the amount and quality of which, depend on

A) the familiarity of the image.
B) the size of the image.
C) the complexity of the image.
D) whether the image is that of a natural (e.g., a chicken in a field) or unnatural (e.g., a chicken in a cage) theme.
E) the relevancy of the image (e.g., a scene of a soccer match shown to someone who has no interest in sports).

Question 35

Drawing attention to a familiar face in a complex scene of people milling about in a natural setting, such as a woody glen, will activate the

A) V1.
B) V2.
C) inferotemporal cortex.
D) fusiform face area.
E) parahippocampal place area.

Question 36

Transcranial magnetic stimulation of V1 interferes with visual recall. This means that

A) flow of information is no longer flowing from V1 to V2.
B) flow of information from the frontal cortex and hippocampus has been disrupted.
C) all posterior-to-anterior information flow has been disrupted.
D) visual recall depends on the presentation of the stimulus as a reminder.
E) visual recall depends on the presentation of the stimulus as a predictor of other images.

Question 37

We are able to recognize objects in our world because we have

A) seen pictures of such objects.
B) read about such objects.
C) experience with such objects.
D) been told about such objects.
E) talked about such objects.

Question 38

The greater the number of sensory modalities we use to "know" an object, the _______ and _______ is our mental representation about it.

A) more accurate; complete
B) more accurate; incomplete
C) more accurate; efficient
D) less accurate; complete
E) less accurate; incomplete

Question 39

If an associated cortex that is served by both visual and tactile sensory input is damaged, what will be the probable result?

A) Retrograde damage into the somatosensory cortex will occur.
B) Retrograde damage into V1 cortex will occur.
C) Retrograde damage into both the somatosensory and V1 cortices will occur.
D) The animal will not be able to make sense (create a mental representation) of the stimuli if the damage occurred before exposure to the stimuli.
E) The animal will still be able to draw on memories of earlier representations of the stimuli before the damage occurred, and, therefore, the appropriate behavioral response will still occur40

Question 40

One way to determine the function of the association cortex is to record cellular responses when the animal is presented with a certain stimulus. If the stimulus was a video of a famous celebrity singing, the temporal-occipital association cortex will receive both visual and auditory input. One should, therefore, record from

A) the V1 cortex.
B) the V2 cortex.
C) both V1 and the auditory cortices.
D) the temporal-occipital association cortex.
E) the V1 cortex, auditory cortex and the temporal-occipital association cortex.

Question 41

Explain how intracortical processing applies in the auditory system.

Question 42

Explain in simple and "big picture" terms what the vibrational comparison task is.

Question 43

How could one apply a vibrational comparison-type experiment to diagnose a medical problem?

Question 44

What is a common clinical evaluation most people undergo that is analogous to the intracortical processing for tactile stimuli described in the text?

Question 45

Propose a possible explanation for why the primary motor cortex has little-to-no stimulus coding.

Question 46

Propose an equation that describes the choice probability index (CPI).

Question 47

Although the dorsal pathway allows us to detect motion of an object, must the latter be moving for us to get a complete picture about an object's saliency?

Question 48

Explain how businesses and government take advantage of pattern recognition to advertise themselves and/or to convey a message that can be immediately perceived.

Question 49

In ambiguous visual images, such as "Rubin's Vase," shown in the text, most people can recognize the faces in the image. Propose an explanation for why some people do not recognize the faces first, but rather, see the vase first, even after some prodding.

Question 50

Although in Biology, teleological questions are difficult to answer, propose one possible reason for why the brain has invested so much in visual recognition of faces.

Question 51

Evidence described in the text indicates that face-selective neurons exist. Is it possible that each person has a subset of neurons that recognize specific faces, such as those of famous people, friends and family members? And, do such specific subsets of neurons recognize more than one face? That is, say, if face-specific neurons A, B, and C recognize your father's face, do these same neurons also recognize your mother's face? And, if one of these subsets of neurons were selectively destroyed, will you still be able to recognize your father's face?

Question 52

Every day, you see and are familiar with your sister, who is 15 years old. Then, one day, she leaves, and you do not see her again for 15 years. Now, at age 30; you barely recognize her. Explain the activities your inferotemporal cortex (ITC) underwent during the first 15 years and then again when you see your sister at age 30.

Question 53

How would a patient with a lesion in the medial temporal cortex perceive the movement of a person cross from one side of the room to the other?

Question 54

When one image is able to predict the appearance of a second image, the two stimuli are said to be paired. This can happen in either an artificial setting, such as in a laboratory, or in a natural setting, such as anywhere outside a laboratory. Explain what this kind of training is called and name the cortical structures involved.

Question 55

What is the main function of the association cortex?