PSYCH 2NF3 MIDTERM 1 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | GRADED A+.
Spinal Cord - (answer)Conveys information into the brain and sends information from the brain to the
muscles about movement.
Brain stem - (answer)Mediates regulatory functions like eating and drinking
Forebrain - (answer)Mediates cognitive functioning
Descartes' Mind-Body Problem - (answer)Descartes believed the mind and body were separate entities.
He viewed the nonmaterial mind as controlling the material body through the pineal body in the brain.
Darwin's Theory - (answer)Inspired the study of nervous system functions in different species for
comparison with one another. If all animals, including humans, have a common ancestor, then there will
be similarities across species in brain structure and function.
Why is aphasia following a stroke usually associated with paralysis or difficulty with movement on the
right side of the body? - (answer)Damage to the frontal lobe usually results in motor impairment of
movements with the contralateral (opposite) side of the body. Since damage to the left frontal lobe is
associated with aphasia, it would be associated with motor impairments on the right side
Wernicke's main contribution - (answer)- Created first model of how the brain produces language
- Damage to left temporal lobe results in the inability to understand language, speech movements from
Broca's area remain intact, hearing also preserved
- Introduced idea that independent modules handled different aspects of language processing, despite
working together
John Hughlings-Jackson's Hierarchial Organization - (answer)- Suggested the spinal cord, brainstem, and
forebrain had developed successively, in that order, during evolution
- Earlier-evolved animals and animals with injuries at higher levels would have simpler behaviours
3 factors that have enhanced the rate of change in clinical neuropsychology in the past 15 to 20 years -
(answer)- Functional neuroimaging
- Cognitive neuroscience
,PSYCH 2NF3 MIDTERM 1 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | GRADED A+.
- Managed health care
Why is neuropsychological testing particularly useful in cases of closed-head injuries? - (answer)- It is
often the only way to document deficits (cognitive, emotional, or behavioural).
- In many cases no structural deficits revealed via brain imaging
- Most clinical brain imaging only addresses structure, not function
3 difficulties with cutoff scores in neuropsychological test batteries - (answer)- Individual variation in
cerebral organization can be attributed to a myriad of factors, such as sex, handedness, age, education,
culture, and life experiences
- Test-taking strategy could lead to different brain regions being recruited to solve these problems.
- Premorbid intelligence will play a role in problem-solving ability
Challenges to neuropsychological testing that managed health care poses - (answer)- Clinicians often
asked to reduce number of tests administered during neuropsychological evaluation, to save on both
cost of the assessments and time
- Neuroimaging obtains faster results
Identify some factors that can make interpretation of neuropsychological tests difficult. - (answer)- Age,
ethnicity and cultural background, sex, and handedness, as well as other demographic variables
- Premorbid intelligence poses a particular challenge because higher intelligence changes expectations
of the examiner
- Neuropsychological assessments have to be more flexible in determining "impairment," but that
flexibility is what could lead to misinterpretation
Why is post injury intelligence testing not necessarily useful? - (answer)You cannot ascribe any low IQ
score to brain damage without knowing the premorbid level of functioning. There are ways to generate
estimates based on socioeconomic status and education/occupation, but this is an informal method.
Describe the problem of effort - (answer)Some individuals wish to exaggerate their cognitive deficits and
will not put forth as much effort during the assessment. It poses a problem because suboptimal effort
has been shown to produce a greater impact on performance than does actual brain damage. Therefore,
, PSYCH 2NF3 MIDTERM 1 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | GRADED A+.
neuropsychologists have to somehow be able to account for any malingering in order to know they are
assessing a real deficit.
Identify and describe four ways that the brain and spinal cord are protected from injury and infection. -
(answer)- CNS encased in bone
- Surrounded by the meninges
- Surrounded by CSF
- Separated from direct contact with the body's blood supply from astroglial cells of the blood-brain
barrier
Identify the lobes of the cortex supplied by each of the following: anterior cerebral artery, middle
cerebral artery, and posterior cerebral artery. - (answer)The anterior cerebral artery supplies medial and
dorsal parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, the middle cerebral artery supplies lateral areas of all four
lobes, and the posterior cerebral artery supplies inferior and medial areas of the temporal and occipital
lobes.
Describe the process by which a stem cell becomes a neuron or glial cell. - (answer)- A neural stem cell
gives rise to a progenitor cell - gives rise to blast cells that are either neuroblasts or glioblasts
- Neuroblasts give rise to different types of neurons
- glioblasts give rise to different types of glial cells
Identify the types of glial cells, and indicate their main function in the nervous system. - (answer)-
Ependymal cells secrete cerebrospinal fluid
- Astrocytes provide nutrition and support to neurons
- Microglia provide defense from pathogens
- Oligodendroglial cells form the myelin sheath on CNS axons
- Schwann cells form myelin on PNS nerves
Compare and contrast the functions of the spinal nerves and cranial nerves. - (answer)Both sets of
nerves provide efferent and afferent communication between the CNS and the body; however, the
spinal nerves mainly innervate the skeletal muscles and the body surface below the neck and the dorsal
scalp to the vertex of the skull, while the cranial nerves innervate the skin, muscles, and specialized
sensory receptors in and around the ventral cranium and some parts of the internal viscera.
Spinal Cord - (answer)Conveys information into the brain and sends information from the brain to the
muscles about movement.
Brain stem - (answer)Mediates regulatory functions like eating and drinking
Forebrain - (answer)Mediates cognitive functioning
Descartes' Mind-Body Problem - (answer)Descartes believed the mind and body were separate entities.
He viewed the nonmaterial mind as controlling the material body through the pineal body in the brain.
Darwin's Theory - (answer)Inspired the study of nervous system functions in different species for
comparison with one another. If all animals, including humans, have a common ancestor, then there will
be similarities across species in brain structure and function.
Why is aphasia following a stroke usually associated with paralysis or difficulty with movement on the
right side of the body? - (answer)Damage to the frontal lobe usually results in motor impairment of
movements with the contralateral (opposite) side of the body. Since damage to the left frontal lobe is
associated with aphasia, it would be associated with motor impairments on the right side
Wernicke's main contribution - (answer)- Created first model of how the brain produces language
- Damage to left temporal lobe results in the inability to understand language, speech movements from
Broca's area remain intact, hearing also preserved
- Introduced idea that independent modules handled different aspects of language processing, despite
working together
John Hughlings-Jackson's Hierarchial Organization - (answer)- Suggested the spinal cord, brainstem, and
forebrain had developed successively, in that order, during evolution
- Earlier-evolved animals and animals with injuries at higher levels would have simpler behaviours
3 factors that have enhanced the rate of change in clinical neuropsychology in the past 15 to 20 years -
(answer)- Functional neuroimaging
- Cognitive neuroscience
,PSYCH 2NF3 MIDTERM 1 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | GRADED A+.
- Managed health care
Why is neuropsychological testing particularly useful in cases of closed-head injuries? - (answer)- It is
often the only way to document deficits (cognitive, emotional, or behavioural).
- In many cases no structural deficits revealed via brain imaging
- Most clinical brain imaging only addresses structure, not function
3 difficulties with cutoff scores in neuropsychological test batteries - (answer)- Individual variation in
cerebral organization can be attributed to a myriad of factors, such as sex, handedness, age, education,
culture, and life experiences
- Test-taking strategy could lead to different brain regions being recruited to solve these problems.
- Premorbid intelligence will play a role in problem-solving ability
Challenges to neuropsychological testing that managed health care poses - (answer)- Clinicians often
asked to reduce number of tests administered during neuropsychological evaluation, to save on both
cost of the assessments and time
- Neuroimaging obtains faster results
Identify some factors that can make interpretation of neuropsychological tests difficult. - (answer)- Age,
ethnicity and cultural background, sex, and handedness, as well as other demographic variables
- Premorbid intelligence poses a particular challenge because higher intelligence changes expectations
of the examiner
- Neuropsychological assessments have to be more flexible in determining "impairment," but that
flexibility is what could lead to misinterpretation
Why is post injury intelligence testing not necessarily useful? - (answer)You cannot ascribe any low IQ
score to brain damage without knowing the premorbid level of functioning. There are ways to generate
estimates based on socioeconomic status and education/occupation, but this is an informal method.
Describe the problem of effort - (answer)Some individuals wish to exaggerate their cognitive deficits and
will not put forth as much effort during the assessment. It poses a problem because suboptimal effort
has been shown to produce a greater impact on performance than does actual brain damage. Therefore,
, PSYCH 2NF3 MIDTERM 1 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 2026 UPDATE | GRADED A+.
neuropsychologists have to somehow be able to account for any malingering in order to know they are
assessing a real deficit.
Identify and describe four ways that the brain and spinal cord are protected from injury and infection. -
(answer)- CNS encased in bone
- Surrounded by the meninges
- Surrounded by CSF
- Separated from direct contact with the body's blood supply from astroglial cells of the blood-brain
barrier
Identify the lobes of the cortex supplied by each of the following: anterior cerebral artery, middle
cerebral artery, and posterior cerebral artery. - (answer)The anterior cerebral artery supplies medial and
dorsal parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, the middle cerebral artery supplies lateral areas of all four
lobes, and the posterior cerebral artery supplies inferior and medial areas of the temporal and occipital
lobes.
Describe the process by which a stem cell becomes a neuron or glial cell. - (answer)- A neural stem cell
gives rise to a progenitor cell - gives rise to blast cells that are either neuroblasts or glioblasts
- Neuroblasts give rise to different types of neurons
- glioblasts give rise to different types of glial cells
Identify the types of glial cells, and indicate their main function in the nervous system. - (answer)-
Ependymal cells secrete cerebrospinal fluid
- Astrocytes provide nutrition and support to neurons
- Microglia provide defense from pathogens
- Oligodendroglial cells form the myelin sheath on CNS axons
- Schwann cells form myelin on PNS nerves
Compare and contrast the functions of the spinal nerves and cranial nerves. - (answer)Both sets of
nerves provide efferent and afferent communication between the CNS and the body; however, the
spinal nerves mainly innervate the skeletal muscles and the body surface below the neck and the dorsal
scalp to the vertex of the skull, while the cranial nerves innervate the skin, muscles, and specialized
sensory receptors in and around the ventral cranium and some parts of the internal viscera.
