Approaches to understanding the brain

What is Franz Gall's theory of phrenology based on?

• The idea that the shape of a person's skull will change the shape of their brain and form their personality.

• The introduction of the idea that different mental functions are located in different parts of the brain.

• Development and support by the scientific method.

• Its status as a popular and unchallenged theory of the brain today.

Brain ablation studies involved...

• destroying sections of humans’ brains to see the effect on behaviour.

• analysing the lumps and bumps on a person’s skull to study their personality.

• removing the entire brain of animals to see if the mind was a separate entity.

• removing areas of the brains of rabbits and pigeons to determine the impact on cognition and behaviour.

What did Wilder Penfield build upon to advance his research on the brain?

• The work of other physicians who used chemical analysis

• The work of other physicians who had electrically stimulated the brains of animals

• The work of other physicians who used psychological evaluations

• The work of other physicians who studied brain functions through observation alone

What was a significant discovery made by Penfield during his experiments on the human brain?

• That the brain could not be stimulated electrically

• That the brain's functions were not localized to specific sections

• That different sections of the brain were responsible for specific functions

• That the brain's functions were entirely random and unpredictable

What is the purpose of injecting a patient with an iodine-based substance during a CT scan?

• To reduce the radiation exposure

• To enhance the flavor of the oral contrast

• To make certain brain structures more visible

• To speed up the scanning process

What information does a CT scan provide?

• Functional information

• Structural information only

• Chemical composition

• Real-time organ movement

Compared to a CT scan, what is a benefit of an MRI?

• It requires harmful x-rays

• It provides less detailed images

• It does not require harmful x-rays

• It is a faster process

How is an image produced in an MRI?

• A person's head is placed in a chamber and a magnetic field is created around it; radio waves are pulsed to vibrate brain neurons. The vibrations are detected and used to produce the image.

• A person's head is placed in a chamber and a magnetic field is created around it; light waves are pulsed to vibrate brain neurons. The vibrations are detected and used to produce the image.

• A person's head is placed in a chamber and an electric field is created around it; radio waves are pulsed to vibrate brain neurons. The vibrations are detected and used to produce the image.

• A person's head is placed in a chamber and a magnetic field is created around it; sound waves are pulsed to vibrate brain neurons. The vibrations are detected and used to produce the image.

What principle does functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) rely on to generate images of brain activity?

• The absorption of x-rays by different tissues

• The electrical conductivity of different brain regions

• The blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) contrast

• The magnetic properties of bone versus soft tissue

Why is MRI preferred over CT scans for imaging soft tissues?

• MRI uses ionizing radiation, which is more effective for soft tissues.

• MRI provides higher contrast images of soft tissues compared to CT scans.

• MRI is a faster imaging technique than CT scans.

• MRI is less expensive than CT scans.