Deck 4: Neuroplasticity

Question 1

Moving within an ecosystem and being able to absorb local language and culture are possible because of the brain's:

A)modularity
B)efficiency
C)plasticity
D)all of the above

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The sensitive period is when the brain is:

A)most plastic and able to change structure
B)most vulnerable to damage
C)most susceptible to neurotrophin
D)none of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Your brain would begin devoting less space to the area associated with your right arm if your arm:

A)was used daily
B)was your weaker arm
C)was covered by a cloth
D)was amputated

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Your brain redraws its mapping of bodily space when:

A)you go into a new place
B)your body changes shape
C)you learn a new language
D)you change your clothes

Question 5

Making changes in the brain only when those changes would be helpful or relevant to the organism is called:

A)adaptive coding
B)tonotopic mapping
C)gating
D)monographic mapping

Question 6

Adjacent body parts are represented on ___ maps.

A)somatotopic
B)tonotopic
C)retinotopic
D)none of the above

Question 7

The brain can remap retinopic maps onto a smaller area when:

A)more neural tissue is available
B)it loses plasticity
C)less neural tissue is available
D)it gains plasticity

Question 8

A phantom sensation occurs when:

A)two limbs are tied together for more than three hours
B)part of your body has been amputated but the associated area is activated by touch to an adjacent area on the homunculus
C)noise in individual neurons produces pain
D)you imagine someone touching you

Question 9

Both playing a sport and changing your career will alter:

A)the structure of your brain
B)the way axons make their way to targets
C)the way you feel phantom sensations
D)your brain's homunculus

Question 10

Your brain would not change and success in learning a new task would be impaired if:

A)the release of acetylcholine was blocked
B)there was an increase in the release of acetylcholine
C)your brain was too plastic
D)none of the above

Question 11

Attardi and Sperry discovered that the brain spread out to utilize the entire optic tectum after removing half of a frog's:
A)depression

A)iris
B)Alzheimer's disease
B)visual cortex

Question 12

A person may experience less brain function due to tissue damage and swelling after suffering from:

A)depression
B)Alzheimer's disease
C)a stroke
D)a lesion

Question 13

There will be no lasting effect after covering the dominant eye for several weeks if a person is:

A)colorblind
B)past the sensitive period
C)a male
D)an infant

Question 14

A three-year-old will fare much better than a fourteen-year-old when trying to learn:

A)computer programming
B)a new language
C)advanced mathematics
D)biology

Question 15

Generalized plasticity is is a trait of _____ brains.

A)teenage
B)middleaged
C)very young
D)elderly

Question 16

Molecular cues are used by axons as they find their way to _____, as shown in Sperry's experiment.
A)excessively amounts of calcium

A)targets
B)enriching, stimulating environments
B)neurotransmitters

Question 17

Extensively branched dendritic trees may be found in the brains of organisms that have been exposed to:

A)excessively amounts of calcium
B)enriching, stimulating environments
C)deprived environments
D)very hot climates

Question 18

Humans have 25,000 pre-encoded:

A)neurons
B)axons
C)genes
D)amino acids

Question 19

As shown in Held and Hein's experiment with kittens, vision only develops properly when vision is experienced along with _____ body movement.

A)correlated
B)unrelated
C)independent
D)self-generated

Question 20

Necrosis refers to uncontrolled cell death and_____ refers to controlled cell death.

A)pruning
B)mitosis
C)apoptosis
D)degradation

Question 21

Ocular dominance columns in the visual cortex contain cells that respond primarily to signals from either the:

A)upper or lower visual field
B)left or right visual field
C)left or right eye
D)central or peripheral visual field

Question 22

Necrosis refers to a cell dying in a(n) _____ fashion.

A)predetermined
B)uncontrolled
C)disturbing
D)controlled

Question 23

Demonstrating that visual input can be successfully interpreted by auditory cortex demonstrates the incredible _____ of the brain.

A)plasticity
B)rigidity
C)complexity
D)simplicity

Question 24

Using a vest covered in vibratory motors to translate sound into patterns on the skin is an example of:

A)sensory substitution
B)sensory subtraction
C)sensory addition
D)sensory overload

Question 25

The primary purpose of sensory substitution devices is to work around:

A)damaged sensory cortex
B)damaged motor cortex
C)missing limbs
D)damaged sensory input channels

Question 26

A complete removal of half of the cerebrum is referred to as a:

A)encephalitis"
B)hemispherectomy"
C)stroke"
D)hysterectomy"

Question 27

How was Matthew S. able to survive with only half a brain?

A)his brain was already wired to function with only one hemisphere, but was previously inhibited from doing so"
B)Matthew S. was able to survive, but because his brain was far past the sensitive period, he was unable to function normally"
C)his brain rewired itself to take over missing functions, and redrew maps on a larger piece of tissue"
D)his brain rewired itself to take over the missing functions, and redrew maps on a smaller piece of tissue"

Question 28

The brain's plasticity allows it to:

A)optimally control any type of body"
B)move within an ecosystem"
C)absorb local language and culture"
D)all of the above"

Question 29

When you learn something new, what happens to your brain?

A)there is only a physical change if you are interested in what you are learning"
B)it physically changes"
C)you need to be exposed to the information multiple times before there is a physical change in your brain"
D)you store the new information, but your brain does not physically change"

Question 30

Your brain is most plastic during which time?

A)while in utero"
B)right before you experience something new"
C)the sensitive period"
D)right after you experience something new"

Question 31

Homunculus is the term for the way your brain:

A)receives messages from your face and limbs"
B)maps out your body"
C)changes over time"
D)sends messages to your face and limbs"

Question 32

If you were to lose an arm in a motor vehicle accident, your brain would:

A)maintain the current neural layout, keeping the area for your arm as the area for your arm"
B)reorganize itself, moving the "arm area" to a different location of the brain"
C)reorganize itself so neighboring areas of the brain would take over the space formally used for your arm"
D)regrow "arm cells" in the area used for your arm"

Question 33

Imagine that you lost an arm, and your brain rewired itself so that the neighboring face representation took over the area of your brain that used to represent your arm. What might happen when someone touches particular areas of your face?

A)you only feel the sensation in your face"
B)you no longer feel sensation in that area of your face"
C)you can feel the touch in your "arm", which is no longer there"
D)none of the above"

Question 34

The process of deafferentation involves:

A)losing distinction between left and right"
B)removing one hemisphere the brain"
C)severing sensory nerves"
D)lost of sight from one eye"

Question 35

When the area of your cortex that previously sent information about a now missing limb sends current information to other areas of your brain, you may experience:

A)a loss of sensation"
B)a confusion of left and right sides of your body"
C)a phantom sensation"
D)none of the above"

Question 36

Which tool can be used to asses a human brain's map of the body?

A)PET"
B)voxel-based morphography"
C)lesion studies"
D)fMRI"

Question 37

Phantom hands, feet, or toes move ____ over time.

A)to the opposite side of the body"
B)they do not move"
C)away from the stumps of the amputation"
D)toward the stumps of the amputation"

Question 38

The idea of "no brain, no pain" refers to the fact that:

A)you can damage an area of the brain and lose sensation of a limb without actually losing the limb"
B)sensations, including pain, begin in the brain"
C)You can lose a limb without losing sensation of that limb"
D)all of the above"

Question 39

What would happen if you lost feeling in your leg for a few hours?

A)your brain would work to devote more space to your leg"
B)you would begin to feel phantom sensation in your leg when someone touched your face"
C)your brain would begin devoting less space to your leg"
D)the space in your brain allocated to your leg would merge with that of your other leg"

Question 40

When your body changes shape (either realistically or artificially) your brain can:

A)rewires itself to use resource more efficiently"
B)redraw its mapping of bodily space"
C)merge previously separate sensory inputs"
D)all of the above"

Question 41

What kind of reorganization goes on in the brain of a congenitally blind person?

A)areas of the cortex that are typically used for vision are shut down and go unused"
B)areas of the cortex that are typically used for vision are transferred to tactile and auditory input"
C)areas of there cortex that are typically used for vision are transferred to olfactory and gustatory input"
D)areas of the cortex that are typically used for vision are transferred to motor output"

Question 42

What might happen in your visual cortex if you were blindfolded for three days?

A)your primary visual cortex would respond to other, non-visual stimuli"
B)your primary visual cortex would suspend functioning until the blindfold was removed"
C)your primary visual cortex would activate only during visual input"
D)all of the above"

Question 43

Aside from phantom limbs, people may experience phantom:

A)olfactory sensations"
B)visual sensations"
C)auditory sensations"
D)gustatory sensations"

Question 44

An animal that changes its territory to an area where it is difficult to hear due to environmental noise would experience a reorganization of the cortex so that:

A)the visual and tactile areas could cede territory"
B)the auditory area could cede territory to visual and tactile areas"
C)the auditory area could acquire more territory"
D)none of the above"

Question 45

You decide to change your major from political science to psychology. What can we expect to happen to your brain?

A)your brain will rewire itself so that your visual cortex will have more space"
B)your brain will begin allocating more resources to erasing what you have already learned about political science"
C)your brain will begin to devote more resources to learning all there is to know about psychology"
D)your brain will form a new map over a smaller area of tissue"

Question 46

Adaptive coding occurs when:

A)animals and humans learn new information"
B)humans interact with technology"
C)animals and humans change their foraging and reproductive behavior"
D)brains allocate neural activity depending on the organism's needs"

Question 47

Why should a patient with a paralyzed limb be encouraged to use that limb rather than their normally functioning limb?

A)use of the paralyzed limb will encourage the brain to make new connections in available healthy tissue space"
B)use of the paralyzed limb will discourage the healthy limb from taking over the brain space of the paralyzed limb"
C)after much persistance, functioning on the paralyzed limb may improve"
D)all of the above"

Question 48

Your brain may change in structure due to:

A)acquired disabilities"
B)the career you choose"
C)playing instruments"
D)all of the above"

Question 49

Gating refers to:

A)blocking neurotransmitter reuptake"
B)reorganizing one hemisphere when the other is damaged"
C)learning a new skill"
D)making changes in the brain only when those changes would be helpful or relevant to the organism"

Question 50

When you are learning a new task, _____ neurons are activated, releasing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

A)basal"
B)somatotopic"
C)cholinergic"
D)tonotopic"

Question 51

The basal forebrain is:

A)a region of the brain"
B)where many cholinergic neurons exist"
C)a subcortical collection of structures that project to the forebrain"
D)all of the above"

Question 52

Somatotopic maps represent adjacent:

A)locations"
B)frequencies"
C)body parts"
D)amplitudes"

Question 53

Tonotopic maps represent adjacent:

A)amplitudes"
B)frequencies"
C)body parts"
D)locations"

Question 54

With an increase in the release of acetylcholine by cholinergic neurons, we can expect an increase in:

A)difficulty learning new tasks"
B)sensitivity to tactile stimulation"
C)plasticity"
D)all of the above"

Question 55

While working hard to learn how to knit, something you've wanted to do for a few years, your brain is busy:

A)releasing acetylcholine, decreasing plasticity, and breaking connections"
B)releasing acetylcholine, increasing plasticity, and making new connections"
C)blocking acetylcholine, decreasing plasticity, and making new connections"
D)blocking acetylcholine, increasing plasticity, and making new connections"

Question 56

Your father is trying to teach you the ins and outs of auto maintenance, but your mind is wandering. What might we expect to be happening in your brain?

A)there is not a release of acetylcholine, but there is increased plasticity"
B)there is a release of acetylcholine, and there is not an increase in plasticity"
C)there is a release of acetylcholine, but there is not an increase in plasticity"
D)there is not a release of acetylcholine, and there is not increased plasticity"

Question 57

Given a situation where the release of acetylcholine by the cholinergic neurons was blocked, what would be the outcome when trying to learn a new task?

A)the brain would change, and one should expect to be successful in learning the new task"
B)the brain would change, but success in learning the new task would be impaired"
C)the brain would not change, and success in learning the new task would be impaired"
D)the brain would not change, but with sufficient practice, one could still learn the new task"

Question 58

If we are interested in something, there will be a(n) _____ in the release of acetylcholine.

A)decrease"
B)suspension"
C)attention does not effect the release of acetylcholine"
D)increase"

Question 59

The brain becomes ____ when the release of acetylcholine is modulated or inhibited by other neurotransmitters.

A)more plastic"
B)less sensitive"
C)less plastic or not plastic at all"
D)more sensitive"

Question 60

The optic tectum in frogs corresponds to _____ in mammals.

A)the occipital lobe"
B)the visual cortex"
C)the retina"
D)the optic nerve"

Question 61

If neurons are arranged retinotopically, then:

A)the layout of the cells matches the importance of the input"
B)the layout of the cell runs from the left to right"
C)the layout of the cells matches the layout of the external space"
D)the layout of the cells run from the top to bottom"

Question 62

In an experiment to study plasticity, scientists removed half of the optic tectum of a frog. The resulting retiontopic map was:

A)intact, but shifted to another region"
B)intact, but represented in the smaller area"
C)missing the left visual field"
D)missing the right visual field"

Question 63

Attardi and Sperry removed one half of a frog's retina (thus halving the number of optic nerves) in order to see if the retinotopic map would:

A)shrink to fit the smaller retina"
B)spread out to utilize the entire optic tectum"
C)shrink to fit the optic tectum"
D)spread out to utilize the entire retina"

Question 64

If the brain loses an area of sensory tissue, it can:

A)compensate by leaving out random sensory input"
B)compensate by ignoring sensory input from the lost areas"
C)compensate by recruiting from surrounding undamaged cortex"
D)compensate by compressing the same function into the smaller area"

Question 65

If the input to an auditory area is reduced so that the brain has more available tissue than necessary for a tonotopic map, it can:

A)compensate by expanding the input area"
B)spread out the map into the available tissue"
C)speed up the rate of processing information from that area"
D)keep the map within the normal range"

Question 66

The damage to or loss of language skills is called:

A)stroke"
B)aphasia"
C)agnosia"
D)amnesia"

Question 67

Neural responses to a stroke include:

A)recovery of some functions after weeks, months, or years"
B)loss of brain function due to tissue damage and swelling"
C)cortical reorganization"
D)all of the above"

Question 68

If a person suffers a stroke in their left hemisphere we would expect to see:

A)eventual recovery of some lost functions"
B)loss or partial loss of language abilities"
C)reorganization in the right hemisphere"
D)all of the above"

Question 69

After suffering a stroke that damages the left hemisphere and affects speech, a person could, in theory, regain speaking ability because:

A)the left hemisphere heals itself"
B)language function could be distributed throughout the cortex"
C)there is a transfer of language to the visual cortex"
D)there is a transfer of language function to the right hemisphere"

Question 70

The function of a neuron does not depend primarily on its identity or location, but on its:

A)number of dendrites"
B)connections"
C)size"
D)number of axons"

Question 71

Covering the dominant eye of a human during the sensitive period for a time will allow the weaker eye to:

A)grow more optic nerves"
B)nothing will happen to the weaker eye"
C)lose cortical territory"
D)acquire cortical territory"

Question 72

Covering the dominant eye of a human once the sensitive period has passed will result in:

A)loss of vision in the dominant eye"
B)no lasting effect"
C)the dominant eye acquiring more cortical territory"
D)the weaker eye acquiring more cortical territory"

Question 73

If we were to cover the dominant eye of a 50-year-old human for a week, we would expect there to be:

A)acquisition of cortical territory for the dominant eye"
B)acquisition of cortical territory for the weaker eye"
C)no lasting effect"
D)none of the above"

Question 74

Danielle, the feral child found in Florida, shows how important ______ is to brain development.

A)school attendance"
B)socioeconomic status"
C)gender"
D)social interaction"

Question 75

The ability to learn a new language is correlated with:

A)race"
B)age"
C)gender"
D)socioeconomic status"

Question 76

Four children immigrate to the United States. Which one will have the greatest success at learning to speak English fluently?

A)a nine-year-old"
B)a twelve-year-old"
C)a fifteen-year-old"
D)a six-year-old"

Question 77

A child born deaf will not be able to speak correctly, even if their vocal chords are in perfect working order. But, if the child's parents use sign-language, the child will display:

A)brain plasticity in language regions"
B)manual babbling"
C)normal verbal development"
D)spontaneous speech sounds"

Question 78

As a baby has more exposure to her mother tongue, she loses to ability to distinguish between:

A)phonemes used by native speakers of the child's mother tongue"
B)local dialects used by native speakers of the child's mother tongue"
C)phonemes unused by native speakers of the child's mother tongue"
D)accents of non-native speakers of the child's mother tongue"

Question 79

Organisms with more flexible brains have longer periods of:

A)adaptation"
B)gating"
C)stagnation"
D)helplessness"

Question 80

Unlike adults, the brains of babies have very _____ plasticity without ________.

A)generalized; wide-spread change"
B)localized; wide-spread change"
C)localized; attentional focus"
D)generalized; attentional focus"