PSYB55 Lec 1-4 Test Questions and
All Actual Answers 2025-2026
Updated.
Aggregate field theory - Answer Brain = 1 large, non-specialized thing (any part of brain can
perform any function)
→Bc rat lesioning research showed that rats could be fine w/out all parts of their brain
Localization of function - Answer Specific parts of the brain perform specific functions
→Phrenology was in favour of this, although phrenology itself was an incorrect practice
Evidence for localization of function - Answer 1. Broca's Area: Broca's aphasia means you can
understand but can't speak coherently
2. Jacksonian march: when seizures start in one place (ex. thumb), they would progress in a way
consistant w the topographic map of cerebral cortex (ex. up to the index finger, then middle,
etc)
3. Montreal Procedure: epilepsy brain mapping to prevent neurosurgeons from removing
something that would worsen the life of the epileptic patient
4. Phineas Gage: his orbitofrontal cortex was destroyed, which impaired his personality
5. Patient H.M.: Anterograde amnesia from his bilateral medial temporal resection (removed his
hippocampus) bc of his epilepsy → localization of function for memory
6. Callosotomy (resection of corpus callosum): to prevent seizures from spreading from 1 lobe
to the other
7. Bad application of localization of function: frontal lobotomy
Techniques in neuropsych - Answer 1. Non-human studies: animal lesion studies
2. Structural imagining techniques: CT, sMRI
3. Functional imaging techniques: EEG, fMRI
4. Pertubation studies: TMS, tDCS
5. Human patient studies: stroke, brain trauma survivors
Method of inquiry: Behaviourism - Answer Psych should be an objective science that studies
behaviour without reference to mental processes; "seining is believing"
→There was good attention to detail but they overlooked important aspects of learning
→Dark ages of psych: only studied associative learning, conditioning
,Method of inquiry: Cognitivism - Answer Broader scope than just behaviour; study of
learning and other mental processes
→multitasking: cognitive resources are limited but imp. for functioning well in the world
→variability: there are w/in subject diffs and b/w subjects
→flexibility: cognitive abilities change w use/development and disuse
Method of Inquiry: Introspection (via structuralism) - Answer Breaking down complicated
things into smaller parts to better understand something (ex. sadness can be understood by
what's happening: tired, sore back, etc)
→requires you to be aware of what's happening
→introspection can't be used to analyse things in the subconscious
Cardiac hypothesis - Answer The heart is the seat of the mind.
→Heart dysfunction leads to cog. impairment (no oxygen = dead brain tissue so they saw a
correlation)
→Ancient Egypt kept heart and discarded brain of the dead bc of these beliefs
Brain hypothesis - Answer Brain is the seat of the mind
→Dualism: brain & mind are related but separate entities
→Rationalism: brain is symmetric except for pineal gland which exists in the middle of the brain
∴ it must connect the brain to the soul
→This explained reflexes, which don't need brain orders
Are reflexes greater or inhibited in patients with cut spinal cord - Answer Cut spinal cord = no
communication b/w the brain & body → reflex is greater bc of lack of brain's inhibition
→Reflexes are also strong in newborns bc of lack of brain inhibition
Neuron doctrine - Answer The REJECTION OF Golgi's syncytium proposal (the brain was one
continuous gelatinous material bc of the role of the synapse)
→Brain develops from the inside-out, w the cortex being made later
Earliest record for dramatic brain injury? - Answer Edwin Smith Papyrus: Treatment of brain
swelling after traumatic brain injury
→Hinted at localization of function
Broca's Area - Answer In the left frontal lobe
→Damage: Broca's aphasia = Non-fluent output despite intact comprehension
, Wernicke's area - Answer Left temporal lobe
→Damage: Wernicke's aphasia = Impaired comprehension despite fluent output
Montreal Procedure - Answer For epilepsy; Brain mapping using electrocortical stimulation
on the brain's surface
→MOTOR/PREMOTOR Movements
→PARIETAL Somatosensory/visual hallucinations
→OCCIPITAL Visual hallucinations
→PREFRONTAL Nothing ('silent cortex')
→TEMPORAL Visual/auditory Hallucinations
Whole memories
Phones Gage - Answer Total ablation of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC);[Variable] impact on
emotion, personality
patient H.M. - Answer Bilateral medial temporal lobe resection for chronic, debilitating
epilepsy
→Profound anterograde amnesia despite
relatively intact long-term memory stores
Callostomy - Answer Resection of corpus callosum
→Eliminates cortical cross-hemispheric communication (stops spread of seizures)
What are some specialized subfields of cog. neurosci? - Answer 1. Developmental cognitive
neuroscience
→ex: development of "theory of mind"
2. Social cognitive neuroscience
→ex: self-monitoring in social situations
3. Cultural cognitive neuroscience
→ex: display rules and emotion regulation
4. Clinical cognitive neuroscience
→ex: neurological basis of hallucinations
5. Rehabilitation neuroscience (CN-angle)
→ex: resumption of speech after Broca's aphasia
All Actual Answers 2025-2026
Updated.
Aggregate field theory - Answer Brain = 1 large, non-specialized thing (any part of brain can
perform any function)
→Bc rat lesioning research showed that rats could be fine w/out all parts of their brain
Localization of function - Answer Specific parts of the brain perform specific functions
→Phrenology was in favour of this, although phrenology itself was an incorrect practice
Evidence for localization of function - Answer 1. Broca's Area: Broca's aphasia means you can
understand but can't speak coherently
2. Jacksonian march: when seizures start in one place (ex. thumb), they would progress in a way
consistant w the topographic map of cerebral cortex (ex. up to the index finger, then middle,
etc)
3. Montreal Procedure: epilepsy brain mapping to prevent neurosurgeons from removing
something that would worsen the life of the epileptic patient
4. Phineas Gage: his orbitofrontal cortex was destroyed, which impaired his personality
5. Patient H.M.: Anterograde amnesia from his bilateral medial temporal resection (removed his
hippocampus) bc of his epilepsy → localization of function for memory
6. Callosotomy (resection of corpus callosum): to prevent seizures from spreading from 1 lobe
to the other
7. Bad application of localization of function: frontal lobotomy
Techniques in neuropsych - Answer 1. Non-human studies: animal lesion studies
2. Structural imagining techniques: CT, sMRI
3. Functional imaging techniques: EEG, fMRI
4. Pertubation studies: TMS, tDCS
5. Human patient studies: stroke, brain trauma survivors
Method of inquiry: Behaviourism - Answer Psych should be an objective science that studies
behaviour without reference to mental processes; "seining is believing"
→There was good attention to detail but they overlooked important aspects of learning
→Dark ages of psych: only studied associative learning, conditioning
,Method of inquiry: Cognitivism - Answer Broader scope than just behaviour; study of
learning and other mental processes
→multitasking: cognitive resources are limited but imp. for functioning well in the world
→variability: there are w/in subject diffs and b/w subjects
→flexibility: cognitive abilities change w use/development and disuse
Method of Inquiry: Introspection (via structuralism) - Answer Breaking down complicated
things into smaller parts to better understand something (ex. sadness can be understood by
what's happening: tired, sore back, etc)
→requires you to be aware of what's happening
→introspection can't be used to analyse things in the subconscious
Cardiac hypothesis - Answer The heart is the seat of the mind.
→Heart dysfunction leads to cog. impairment (no oxygen = dead brain tissue so they saw a
correlation)
→Ancient Egypt kept heart and discarded brain of the dead bc of these beliefs
Brain hypothesis - Answer Brain is the seat of the mind
→Dualism: brain & mind are related but separate entities
→Rationalism: brain is symmetric except for pineal gland which exists in the middle of the brain
∴ it must connect the brain to the soul
→This explained reflexes, which don't need brain orders
Are reflexes greater or inhibited in patients with cut spinal cord - Answer Cut spinal cord = no
communication b/w the brain & body → reflex is greater bc of lack of brain's inhibition
→Reflexes are also strong in newborns bc of lack of brain inhibition
Neuron doctrine - Answer The REJECTION OF Golgi's syncytium proposal (the brain was one
continuous gelatinous material bc of the role of the synapse)
→Brain develops from the inside-out, w the cortex being made later
Earliest record for dramatic brain injury? - Answer Edwin Smith Papyrus: Treatment of brain
swelling after traumatic brain injury
→Hinted at localization of function
Broca's Area - Answer In the left frontal lobe
→Damage: Broca's aphasia = Non-fluent output despite intact comprehension
, Wernicke's area - Answer Left temporal lobe
→Damage: Wernicke's aphasia = Impaired comprehension despite fluent output
Montreal Procedure - Answer For epilepsy; Brain mapping using electrocortical stimulation
on the brain's surface
→MOTOR/PREMOTOR Movements
→PARIETAL Somatosensory/visual hallucinations
→OCCIPITAL Visual hallucinations
→PREFRONTAL Nothing ('silent cortex')
→TEMPORAL Visual/auditory Hallucinations
Whole memories
Phones Gage - Answer Total ablation of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC);[Variable] impact on
emotion, personality
patient H.M. - Answer Bilateral medial temporal lobe resection for chronic, debilitating
epilepsy
→Profound anterograde amnesia despite
relatively intact long-term memory stores
Callostomy - Answer Resection of corpus callosum
→Eliminates cortical cross-hemispheric communication (stops spread of seizures)
What are some specialized subfields of cog. neurosci? - Answer 1. Developmental cognitive
neuroscience
→ex: development of "theory of mind"
2. Social cognitive neuroscience
→ex: self-monitoring in social situations
3. Cultural cognitive neuroscience
→ex: display rules and emotion regulation
4. Clinical cognitive neuroscience
→ex: neurological basis of hallucinations
5. Rehabilitation neuroscience (CN-angle)
→ex: resumption of speech after Broca's aphasia
