Question 1

Norcia et al. suggested that infant contrast sensitivity measured with the sweep VEP was better than when measured with behavioural methods because:

Accepted Answer

A)   The procedure was fast and the infant was less likely to be bored or distracted
B)   The parent was told to be more encouraging to the infant
C)   Their display was of higher luminance than that usually used
D)   The stimuli were presented monocularly A

Question 2

Which aspects of motion perception are present at birth?

Accepted Answer

At birth, infants have the ability to perceive motion in their environment. This includes the ability to track moving objects with their eyes, as well as the ability to detect and respond to changes in motion. Infants are also able to perceive the direction and speed of motion, allowing them to anticipate and react to moving stimuli. Additionally, research has shown that newborns are sensitive to biological motion, such as the movement of a human or animal, indicating that they have an innate ability to perceive and process complex forms of motion. Overall, the ability to perceive and respond to motion is present from birth and plays a crucial role in the development of sensory and motor skills in infants.

Question 3

In a study using habituation, Slater et al. showed that infants could discriminate different orientations at:

Accepted Answer

A)   3 weeks
B)   3 months
C)   At birth
D)   1 week C

Question 4

Spatial contrast sensitivity in 80-year-olds:

Accepted Answer

A)   Is much worse at low spatial frequencies than in 20-year-olds
B)   Is worse at medium and high spatial frequencies than in 50-year-olds
C)   Peaks at low spatial frequencies
D)   None of these

Question 5

Compared with the young, the elderly require on average how many times as many molecules or ions to detect or recognise a tastant as do the young?

Accepted Answer

A)   4.7
B)   8.7
C)   14
D)   22

Question 6

Temporal contrast sensitivity:

Accepted Answer

A)   Is not affected by ageing
B)   Is worse in the elderly at lower frequencies
C)   Is worse in the elderly for large fields
D)   Is worse in the elderly at higher frequencies

Question 7

Picci and Scherf found that, at puberty, face recognition was better for:

Accepted Answer

A)   More attractive individuals in the peer group
B)   Peers than for adults
C)   All family members
D)   Well-known celebrities

Question 8

How does sensitivity to different auditory frequencies differ in adults and infants?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How does sensitivity to different auditory frequencies...

Question 9

The just noticeable difference in taste for concentration:

Accepted Answer

A)   Is similar for caffeine in young and elderly participants
B)   Is similar for sucrose in young and elderly participants
C)   Is much higher for sucrose in elderly than in young participants
D)   Is similar for sucrose and caffeine

Question 10

Which of the following has not been suggested as a cause of sensorineural deafness?

Accepted Answer

A)   Losses of outer hair cells
B)   Reduction in the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the midbrain
C)   Reduction of movement of the ossicles
D)   Losses of fibres in the auditory nerve

Question 11

VEP responses to global motion are:

Accepted Answer

A)   Greatest in V5 in adults
B)   Greatest in V3 in adults
C)   Greater subcortically in infants
D)   Not present in V5 in infants

Question 12

Which of the following has not been suggested as a cause of the decline in sensitivity of smell in the elderly?

Accepted Answer

A)   blockages in the holes in the cribriform plate
B)   changes in the blood vessels and blood flow in the nasal epithelium
C)   alterations to the airways
D)   Increase in hair inside the nose

Question 13

Losses of contrast sensitivity in the elderly:

Accepted Answer

A)   Are due solely to changes in the eye's optics
B)   Apparently occur because the elderly are more cautious
C)   Occur solely because of neural losses
D)   Occur through a combination of optical changes and neural losses

Question 14

At what age did the data of Braddick et al. show that responses to grating orientation first appear in the VEP?

Accepted Answer

A)   3 weeks
B)   3 months
C)   At birth
D)   1 week

Question 15

Romand found that, in the kitten:

Accepted Answer

A)   Detection thresholds of neurons tuned to lower frequencies tend to reach adult levels sooner than do those of neurons tuned to medium and higher frequencies
B)   Detection thresholds of neurons tuned to higher frequencies tend to reach adult levels sooner than do those of neurons tuned to medium and lower frequencies
C)   There are no obvious differences in the rates of maturation of neurons tuned to different frequencies
D)   Frequency tuning does not improve after 1 week

Question 16

In a study of infants using preferential looking, Wattam-Bell found that the maximum velocity for discriminating relative motion:

Accepted Answer

A)   Rose between 10 and 13 weeks
B)   Fell between 10 and 13 weeks
C)   Could not be measured
D)   Stayed constant between 10 and 13 weeks

Question 17

Olsho et al. concluded from their study of changes in sensitivity to sounds in infancy that:

Accepted Answer

A)   between 3 and 6 months, the improvement is greater at higher frequencies
B)   After 12 months, the improvement is greater at higher frequencies
C)   After 12 months, the only improvements are at lower frequencies
D)   No improvements occur before 3 months

Question 18

Folsom and Wynne found that auditory tuning:

Accepted Answer

A)   Was sharper in adults than in children at higher frequencies.
B)   Was broader in adults than in children at lower frequencies.
C)   Was sharper in adults than in children at higher frequencies
D)   Was broader in adults than in children at higher frequencies

Question 19

Using VEPs, Wattam-Bell et al. showed when stimuli changed between 0% and 100% coherence:

Accepted Answer

A)   Responses to changes in form and motion were adult-like at 3 weeks
B)   Responses to changes in form, but not to motion, were adult-like at 3 weeks
C)   Responses to changes in form and motion were adult-like at 5 months
D)   Responses to changes in motion were adult-like 5 months in all infants, with those to form adult-like in only about half the infants

Question 20

As one ages:

Accepted Answer

A)   Taste and smell decline at similar rates
B)   Taste declines faster than smell
C)   Taste does not decline
D)   Smell declines faster than taste

Exam 15: Changes in Perception Through the Life-Span