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Cognitive MCQs
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Questions in this quiz (48)
1The “functionalist” approach to cognition…
- Ais inspired by findings in the neurosciences regarding how neurons function.
- Bdepends on the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- Cseeks to understand cognitive functions on the basis of single-cell recordings.
- Drelates cognition to the brain as computer software to hardware.
- EUndecided.
2 The spatial resolution of fMRI…
- Ais as high as is needed to address any question in cognitive neuroscience
- Bis constrained by the distribution of blood flow to the brain.
- Cdepends on blood flow and so is better near large blood vessels
- Dcan distinguish between the firing of pyramidal neurons and local-circuit interneurons
- EUndecided
3You hypothesise that impairment to a specific area of the right parietal lobe can cause attentional deficits to the left side of space. You wish to test this in healthy human subjects. Which technique would you employ?
- ATranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
- BfMRI
- CCooling of the area prior to brain surgery.
- DEvent related brain potentials.
- EUndecided.
4You are investigating the neural control of task-switching in a design in which verbal task cues lasting 200ms precede stimuli by 250ms. You are mainly interested in how the cue is processed when the task changes. You would prefer to carry out an ERP rather than fMRI study because…
- Aonly ERPs allow you to focus on what’s happening in the language areas of the brain.
- BfMRI will not adequately distinguish the time course of processing of the cue from that of the stimulus.
- Conly ERPs allow you to obtain data from events to which subjects make no overt response (i.e., the cue).
- Dusing fMRI, each task would have to be performed in a separate block, and hence no switching between tasks could take place.
- EUndecided
5Which of the following statements is not true of fMRI as employed in cognitive research?
- AIt depends heavily on the subtraction technique to isolate the brain activity related to a given experimental condition.
- BIt has poor temporal resolution because it measures changes in blood flow that lag behind changes in neural activity.
- CIt can be used to study relatively small Regions of Interest rather than the whole brain.
- DIt is a method for directly examining the changes in the distribution of neural activity as a function of cognitive task.
6Which of the following is in the correct sequence?
- Aneural event -> increase in oxygenated hemoglobin -> local increase in blood demand -> change in MR signal.
- Bneural event -> local increase in blood demand -> increase in oxygenated hemoglobin -> change in MR signal.
- Cneural event -> local increase in blood demand -> change in electrical activity -> change in MR signal.
- Dneural event -> change in magnetic properties of blood -> increase in oxygenated hemoglobin -> change in MR signal.
7Which of the following statements is not true of single-neuron recording in awake primates?
- AIt has been central to the study of the visual system.
- BIt has been made redundant by the invention of non-invasive techniques.
- CBoth temporal and spatial resolution are very high.
- DIndividual action potentials can be detected and counted.
8You are designing traffic signs and want to investigate whether the words “Left” and “Right” can automatically activate left- and right-biased neural responses, even when seen very briefly. You decide to use fMRI. Which of the following designs would be best to employ?
- AA blocked design (e.g., all right-indicating signs in the same block).
- BA region-of-interest (ROI) design over the motor cortex.
- CEvent-related design, with conditions mixed in a block.
- DNone of the above, the temporal resolution of fMRI is too poor to be used for these purposes.
9Which is the correct sequence in the generation of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)?
- AEEG recording -> Epoching by experimental condition -> Extraction of individual subject ERPs -> Grand averaged ERPs.
- BEEG recording -> Extraction of individual subject ERPs -> Epoching by experimental condition -> Grand averaged ERPs.
- CEEG recording -> Epoching by experimental condition -> Grand averaged ERPs -> Extraction of individual subject ERPs.
- DEpoching by experimental condition -> EEG recording -> Extraction of individual subject ERPs -> Grand averaged ERPs .
10You have run one subject in an ERP study, and from the EEG recording have extracted the set of all epochs related to a given experimental condition. To generate the (single-subject) ERP from this set you must then…
- Aaverage over the epochs.
- Bcompare them to a control condition.
- Ccorrect for eye-movement artifacts and other noise sources.
- Dsubtract the ERP generated by a suitable control condition.
11In a blocked fMRI study on a region of interest (ROI), you present subjects with images of faces, animals, hands and inanimate objects while measuring the percent signal change (PSC) from baseline in the ROI. Which pattern of data (condition:PSC) would be the best evidence for a cortical "face area"?
- Afaces: 2.5, animals: 0.8, hands: 2.4, objects: 0.5
- Bfaces: 1.9, animals: 0.8, hands: 1.8, objects: 0.5
- Cfaces: 1.3, animals: 1.2, hands: 0.7, objects: 0.5
- Dfaces: 1.8, animals: 0.3, hands: 0.4, objects: 0.2
12Which major technological advance in last twenty-five years has been crucial to the widespread use of both fMRI and ERP methods?
- AThe availability of ever faster computers with huge memory capacity for storing and manipulating the data.
- BThe development of methods to more safely produce radioactive tracers for injection into the body.
- CThe development of high-performance electrical shielding which prevents the imaging data being contaminated by electrical noise.
- DThe invention of superconducting magnetic coils to generate high field strengths (> 1.5 tesla).
13You are asked to see a patient who has suffered damage to the Orbito- and Medial-Frontal Cortex, and who is described as exhibiting “Gage-like” behaviour. Which of the following symptoms would you least expect to observe?
- AImpulsivity.
- BAbsence of emotional control.
- CExcessive verbal profanity.
- DSocial withdrawal
14A university lecturer suffers prefrontal lobe damage in a car accident. After returning to work the student evaluations of his lectures are much poorer than before. Which of the following is the least likely to figure amongst the students’ complaints?
- AThe lecturer rambles, and do not stick to the point.
- BThe lecturer is frequently late or does not turn up at all.
- CThe lecturer does not remember how to use the PC and projector.
- DThe lecturer is unusually disrespectful and uses bad language.
15You observe a patient who when presented with just a single object such as a cup can quickly reach and grasp it. But when presented with a cup and a bottle at the same time she appears to become “blocked”, having difficulty initiating any reach and grasp. In terms of the Norman and Shallice CS/SAS model of PFC function, you would most likely hypothesise that the problem is due to…
- Aan impairment in the supervisory attentional system (SAS).
- Ban impairment to the contention scheduling (CS) mechanism.
- Cthe SAS being disconnected from the CS, leading to utilisation behavior.
- Dthe SAS generating conflict with the CS leading to indecision.
16According to the same model, which of the following situations would be least likely to involve the intervention of the supervisory attentional system (SAS)?
- AJumping out of the way of a bus while crossing the road.
- BAvoiding food for 24 hours prior to an operation (while not in hospital).
- CFollowing instructions to look to the left when you see an arrow pointing to the right.
- DDriving on the right for the first time, after having learnt to drive on the left.
17You propose that differences between individuals in the effectiveness of the PFC may contribute to individual differences in academic success. Which of the following would you suggest is most likely to be a reason for this?
- AThe PFC is essential for sustained concentration on difficult tasks such as studying, the reward for which may lie in the distant future.
- BSchool pupils must get to school on time and plan their day in advance, without relying on any external instruction or cues.
- CHigh-performing individuals with better PFC functions suffer a greater fear of social failure, and so work harder to avoid it.
- DThe PFC stimulates actions more likely to receive immediate reward including the approval of one’s peers (classmates).
18You are interviewing a patient whom you suspect to have a specific deficit in working memory, and wish to do a quick informal test. Which of the following tasks would you expect them to be most impaired at?
- ATalking about recent events which have dominated the news media.
- BFilling in a questionnaire about what they have had to eat in the last 24 hours.
- CRecalling the phone number of a close relative whom they have called on many previous occasions.
- DFinding the nearest public lavatory following your verbal directions.
19You find that the patient described in Q. 18 is only seriously impaired on the task you expected. You recommend a structural MR brain scan. To which area would you recommend that the data analysts pay particular attention?
- AThe anterior cingulate gyrus.
- BPre-supplementary motor area of the frontal lobes.
- CDorso-lateral PFC.
- DThe anterior part of the superior temporal sulcus.
20Which of the following does not test working memory?
- ADelayed-matching task.
- BFragment completion task.
- CA mental arithmetic test.
- DCounting backwards in 3s.
21Activation of the anterior cingulate gyrus has frequently been associated with which process?
- AChange of response set in task switching.
- BThe maintained activation of verbal task rules.
- CArousal on detection of response conflict or uncertainty.
- DPrevention of perseveration (e.g., response suppression).
22You are asked to discuss why the (dorso-) lateral prefrontal cortex shows heightened activation on incongruent stimuli in a Stroop task. On the basis of current evidence you would suggest that …
- Ait detects when stimuli are incongruent and heightens alertness.
- Bit suppressing the response made on the previous trial to prevent it being made again (i.e., reducing perseveration).
- Cit helps recover from making an error caused by responding to the word instead of the ink colour.
- Dit is involved in keeping the non-habitual task goal active and preventing the more practiced response from being made.
23You wish to test whether a subject shows evidence of utilisation behavior. Which of the following procedures would be best to use?
- AHave the subject perform the Wisconsin Card-Sorting test or a related test of task-switching, and record perseveration errors.
- BHave the subject perform a task in a cluttered environment, and record how often they act on objects not relevant to the task.
- CHave the subject go shopping with a list of items to buy, and record the number of items they fail to purchase
- DProvide the subject with a set of verbal instructions as to how to construct a simple model from a number of parts, and record the number of errors they make.
24You decide that the subject in Q. 23 suffers a failure of response suppression (i.e., produces responses which should be withheld). Which laboratory task would you use to further test this hypothesis?
- AA task-switching study involving stimulus-response remapping between tasks.
- BA reverse digit span task.
- CA conventional intelligence test, such as the WAIS.
- DA Go/No Go task with relatively infrequent No Go trials.
25Which of the following statements most accurately sums up the current view regarding the distribution/localisation of memory in the human brain?
- AfMRI and neuropsychological data have identified the medial temporal lobes as the region responsible for all memory storage.
- BThe brain stores information as the hard-drive of a computer does: any memory can be stored anywhere that has enough space for it.
- CMemories are stored primarily within the brain regions originally involved in processing the memorised information.
- DAll memory is distributed over as wide an area of the brain as possible, so that localised brain damage will degrade most memory only slightly.
26A pharmaceutical company asks you to evaluate any one of four drugs as a potential “learning enhancer”, and supplies you with descriptions of their known physiological effects. Which drug would you choose as most likely to have such an effect?
- AOne which causes changes in the type of neurotransmitter released in the medial temporal lobe and hippocampus.
- BA drug which increases the size of the cell bodies of neurons that are frequently activated together, so that they can develop more connections.
- CA drug that stimulates the growth of dendritic spines at glutamate synapses.
- DOne which shifts the resting potential across the membrane of dendrites closer to a neuron’s firing threshold.
27Which of the following statements should not be construed as a claim about the organisation of semantic memory?
- AStudies of the effects of temporal lobe lesions provide evidence for category-specific brain areas (representing e.g., animate vs. inanimate objects).
- BThe human brain has evolved to represent manipulable tools separately from other kinds of object.
- CIt is easier to classify a robin as a bird than as an animal because the latter category is further away from “robin” in the class hierarchy.
- DAn adult’s memory for their early childhood is less dependent on the hippocampus than memory for what happened yesterday.
28From a neural standpoint, if a memory is considered “declarative”, this implies that…
- Aits recall must involve the activation of semantic representations that connect to language areas of the brain.
- Bby definition it will be impaired following damage to the language areas of the left hemisphere.
- Cit cannot depend on the activation of any specific cortical region.
- Dthere is no role for the hippocampus in its learning or recall.
29Over a period of months you take regular piano lessons with one teacher and show an improvement in technique. Yet you never recognise your teacher and can’t remember what happened in the last lesson. You most likely have suffered damage to the…
- Aprefrontal lobes.
- Bbasal ganglia and/or premotor cortex.
- Cmedial temporal lobes.
- Dfusiform face area.
30Your elderly grandmother keeps repeating stories she has recently told you, leading you to suspect that she is developing an impairment to her episodic memory. To begin to investigate this, you would ask her to tell you …
- Athe names of her children.
- Bwhat an umbrella is for.
- Cabout the film you took her to see yesterday.
- Dthe name of the primary school she attended.
31You develop a drug which blocks excitatory synapses on hippocampal place cells. You predict that a rat administered the drug will exhibit …
- Aimproved memory for odour sequences.
- Bimpaired memory for odour sequences.
- Cproblems learning to navigate mazes.
- Dspeeded learning in the Morris water maze.
32Hippocampal place cells and time cells could play a role in episodic memory by…
- Ahelping you recall familiar landmarks in your environment.
- Bproviding a sense of the temporal distance from a remembered event.
- Ccontributing to an estimation of the time it will take you to reach a desired location.
- Dbinding a past event to the “where” and “when” of its context.
33You are measuring Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) on dendritic spines. You would assess the change in synaptic strength immediately following LTP induction by …
- Acomparing peak EPSP amplitude before and after the inducing event.
- Bmeasuring the amount of neurotransmitter released by the pre-synaptic neuron.
- Cmeasuring the change in size of the dendritic spine.
- Dcomparing the peak firing rate of the post-synaptic neuron before and after the potentiating event.
34You are studying a patient who shows reduced perceptual priming (e.g., in a fragment completion task), but who correctly distinguishes previously seen from unseen stimuli. Which pattern of neural impairment would you predict?
- AParietal lobe damage with intact medial temporal lobes/hippocampus.
- BA combination of damage to the hippocampus and dorso-lateral PFC.
- CA combination of damage to the hippocampus and the parietal lobes.
- DIntact parietal lobes with bilateral damage to the medial temporal area.
35You are asked about possible sites of neural impairment in an subject showing signs of semantic dementia. You would suggest first looking at the
- Adorso-lateral PFC.
- Bmedial temporal lobes.
- Cposteror fusiform gyrus.
- Dventral ATL.
36Hebbian learning is predicted to occur when…
- Awe learn from trial and error.
- Bthe activation of one neuron repeatedly fails to coincide with the activation of another to which it is connected.
- Cthe activation of one neuron repeatedly co-occurs with the activation of another to which it is not connected.
- Dthe activation of two connected neurons is temporally correlated.
37 You are running a lab recording from single neurons in the rat brain. A student reports that they have found a cortical neuron that responds at 1500 spikes per second (Hz) only when shown pictures of Donald Trump. You would tell them the finding cannot be correct because…
- Athe maximum possible firing rate of a cortical neuron is 1200 Hz.
- Brats cannot distinguish behaviourally between non-rat faces.
- Cnon-primates represent faces in the cerebellum (a non-cortical area).
- Dproduction of a single action potential takes at least 2 milliseconds.
38In any area of the cerebral cortex many types of neurons are found. But you propose that the causally effective “cognitive state” of any area is encoded specifically in the firing pattern of the pyramidal neurons. Which of the following provides the best support for this argument?
- AOnly the pyramidal neurons in a local area have axons which project to other cortical regions.
- BThere are more pyramidal neurons than all of the other cortical neurons put together.
- CThe pyramidal neurons have elaborate spiney dendrites, indicating that these neurons are the only sites of synaptic learning.
- DThe pyramidal neuron is the only type which could possibly form a population code.
39Convergent” connectivity in the brain is possible because…
- Athe axon of a neuron branches many times, each branch ending with a synapse.
- Beach neuron has an elaborate set of dendrites.
- Ca single neuron can send both excitatory and inhibitory signals.
- Da single neuron can receive signals from many others in parallel.
40You are presented with data showing that certain neurons in the temporal lobe of pet dogs strongly respond to all images of their human owner, but to no other human image or stimulus. You would most likely consider this evidence that…
- Athe brain favours distributed representations of significant stimuli.
- Bthe brain of dogs has an area dedicated to human faces.
- Cthe canine brain does not use population coding.
- Dthe brain may form local representations of significant individuals.
41In a population code, the value of a cognitive variable is represented by …
- Athe firing rate of a single neuron, averaged over some period of time.
- Bsome average (e.g., the resultant) of the activity of a set of similarly tuned neurons.
- Cthe average metabolic activity of a brain area, as measured by fMRI or PET.
- Dthe average number of neurons in a group that are simultaneously active.
42In a Competitive Queuing (CQ) model of spelling, the word TRAP is being produced. Which of the following represents the relative activations of the letter responses after the first letter has been produced, and the second is about to be? ( < means “is less active than”, > means “is more active than”).
- AT > R > A > P
- BT < R < A < P
- CT < R < A > P
- DT < R > A > P
43Two nodes (units) in an artificial neural network are linked by a positive weight. What is this most closely related to in the real brain?
- AAn inhibitory synapse between two neurons.
- BThe connection between corresponding regions of the two cerebral hemispheres.
- CA synapse at which release of neurotransmitter increases the firing rate of the post-synaptic neuron.
- DA synapse at which release of neurotransmitter hyperpolarises the post-synaptic neuron.
44. Which neural network mechanism is best suited to resolving the competition between two incompatible responses which are both activated by the same stimulus?
- AThe use of population codes to represent the stimulus.
- BHebbian learning of the stimulus-response relationships
- CThe use of distributed representations to capture the overlap between the two responses.
- DLateral inhibition between the competing responses.
45You are implementing a person recognition system for a bank and want it to learn to associate representations of people’s faces (F) with their voices (V). You decide to use Hebbian learning. Which of the following equations would you use? (DW = change in associative strength, AF = activation of a face, AV = activation of voice)
- ADW = AF - AV
- BAF = DW x Av
- CDW = AF x AV
- DAF + AV = DW
46You believe that, as a result of experience, higher cortical areas in perceptual systems form topographic maps of stimulus classes. You are testing this in the monkey brain, and find a neuron that best responds to bananas. You would predict that…
- Abanana detectors will be found in many areas in the monkey’s brain, as it spends so much time eating bananas.
- Bbanana detectors are hard-wired in the monkey brain.
- Cnearby neurons will respond best to similar-looking edible fruits.
- Dother neurons in the surrounding area will respond to most things the monkey finds interesting.
47You train a neural network model of reading in which the letter nodes C, A, T develop connection strengths (or weights) [1.0, 0.7, 1.0] respectively to the node for the word “CAT”. In your model activation spreads from one node to the next by being multiplied by the weight on the connection between them.
If the activation pattern over the 3 letters is C = 1, A= 1, T = 0.5, the total (net) input to the “CAT” node will be…- A> 2, and < 3
- B< 1
- C1.7
- D3
48You propose that the brains of skilled readers of Braille represent the identity of Braille letters using a distributed representation based on the letters’ tactile shape. You would therefore predict that
- Aeach letter would be represented by a dedicated group of neurons.
- Beach letter would be represented by its position in the alphabet, coded by a population of neurons.
- Csimilarly shaped letters would have overlapping neural representations.
- Dmore similarly shaped letters would be represented by neurons closer together.
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- Psychology Quiz on Cognitive MCQs, created by L H on 24/05/2018.
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- L H
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- Created on 24 May 2018 · updated on 24 May 2018
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