PSYCH 2NF3 Midterm 1| Ques ons and answers |
Updated RATED A+ 2026
Spinal Cord
Conveys informa on into the brain and sends informa on from the brain to the muscles about
movement.
Brain stem
Mediates regulatory func ons like ea ng and drinking
Forebrain
Mediates cogni ve func oning
Descartes' Mind-Body Problem
Descartes believed the mind and body were separate en es. He viewed the nonmaterial mind
as controlling the material body through the pineal body in the brain.
Darwin's Theory
Inspired the study of nervous system func ons in different species for comparison with one
another. If all animals, including humans, have a common ancestor, then there will be
similari es across species in brain structure and func on.
Why is aphasia following a stroke usually associated with paralysis or difficulty with movement
on the right side of the body?
Damage to the frontal lobe usually results in motor impairment of movements with the
contralateral (opposite) side of the body. Since damage to the le- frontal lobe is associated with
aphasia, it would be associated with motor impairments on the right side
Wernicke's main contribu on
- Created first model of how the brain produces language
- Damage to le- 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 Organiza on
,- Suggested the spinal cord, brainstem, and forebrain had developed successively, in that order,
during evolu on
- 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
- Func onal neuroimaging
- Cogni ve neuroscience
- Managed health care
Why is neuropsychological tes ng par cularly useful in cases of closed-head injuries?
- It is o-en the only way to document deficits (cogni ve, emo onal, or behavioural).
- In many cases no structural deficits revealed via brain imaging
- Most clinical brain imaging only addresses structure, not func on
3 difficul es with cutoff scores in neuropsychological test ba9eries
- Individual varia on in cerebral organiza on can be a9ributed to a myriad of factors, such as
sex, handedness, age, educa on, 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 tes ng that managed health care poses
- Clinicians o-en asked to reduce number of tests administered during neuropsychological
evalua on, to save on both cost of the assessments and me
- Neuroimaging obtains faster results
Iden fy some factors that can make interpreta on of neuropsychological tests difficult.
- Age, ethnicity and cultural background, sex, and handedness, as well as other demographic
variables
- Premorbid intelligence poses a par cular challenge because higher intelligence changes
expecta ons of the examiner
- Neuropsychological assessments have to be more flexible in determining "impairment," but
that flexibility is what could lead to misinterpreta on
Why is post injury intelligence tes ng not necessarily useful?
, You cannot ascribe any low IQ score to brain damage without knowing the premorbid level of
func oning. There are ways to generate es mates based on socioeconomic status and
educa on/occupa on, but this is an informal method.
Describe the problem of effort
Some individuals wish to exaggerate their cogni ve deficits and will not put forth as much effort
during the assessment. It poses a problem because subop mal effort has been shown to
produce a greater impact on performance than does actual brain damage. Therefore,
neuropsychologists have to somehow be able to account for any malingering in order to know
they are assessing a real deficit.
Iden fy and describe four ways that the brain and spinal cord are protected from injury and
infec on.
- 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
Iden fy the lobes of the cortex supplied by each of the following: anterior cerebral artery,
middle cerebral artery, and posterior cerebral artery.
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.
- 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
Iden fy the types of glial cells, and indicate their main func on in the nervous system.
- Ependymal cells secrete cerebrospinal fluid
- Astrocytes provide nutri on 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 func ons of the spinal nerves and cranial nerves.
Updated RATED A+ 2026
Spinal Cord
Conveys informa on into the brain and sends informa on from the brain to the muscles about
movement.
Brain stem
Mediates regulatory func ons like ea ng and drinking
Forebrain
Mediates cogni ve func oning
Descartes' Mind-Body Problem
Descartes believed the mind and body were separate en es. He viewed the nonmaterial mind
as controlling the material body through the pineal body in the brain.
Darwin's Theory
Inspired the study of nervous system func ons in different species for comparison with one
another. If all animals, including humans, have a common ancestor, then there will be
similari es across species in brain structure and func on.
Why is aphasia following a stroke usually associated with paralysis or difficulty with movement
on the right side of the body?
Damage to the frontal lobe usually results in motor impairment of movements with the
contralateral (opposite) side of the body. Since damage to the le- frontal lobe is associated with
aphasia, it would be associated with motor impairments on the right side
Wernicke's main contribu on
- Created first model of how the brain produces language
- Damage to le- 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 Organiza on
,- Suggested the spinal cord, brainstem, and forebrain had developed successively, in that order,
during evolu on
- 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
- Func onal neuroimaging
- Cogni ve neuroscience
- Managed health care
Why is neuropsychological tes ng par cularly useful in cases of closed-head injuries?
- It is o-en the only way to document deficits (cogni ve, emo onal, or behavioural).
- In many cases no structural deficits revealed via brain imaging
- Most clinical brain imaging only addresses structure, not func on
3 difficul es with cutoff scores in neuropsychological test ba9eries
- Individual varia on in cerebral organiza on can be a9ributed to a myriad of factors, such as
sex, handedness, age, educa on, 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 tes ng that managed health care poses
- Clinicians o-en asked to reduce number of tests administered during neuropsychological
evalua on, to save on both cost of the assessments and me
- Neuroimaging obtains faster results
Iden fy some factors that can make interpreta on of neuropsychological tests difficult.
- Age, ethnicity and cultural background, sex, and handedness, as well as other demographic
variables
- Premorbid intelligence poses a par cular challenge because higher intelligence changes
expecta ons of the examiner
- Neuropsychological assessments have to be more flexible in determining "impairment," but
that flexibility is what could lead to misinterpreta on
Why is post injury intelligence tes ng not necessarily useful?
, You cannot ascribe any low IQ score to brain damage without knowing the premorbid level of
func oning. There are ways to generate es mates based on socioeconomic status and
educa on/occupa on, but this is an informal method.
Describe the problem of effort
Some individuals wish to exaggerate their cogni ve deficits and will not put forth as much effort
during the assessment. It poses a problem because subop mal effort has been shown to
produce a greater impact on performance than does actual brain damage. Therefore,
neuropsychologists have to somehow be able to account for any malingering in order to know
they are assessing a real deficit.
Iden fy and describe four ways that the brain and spinal cord are protected from injury and
infec on.
- 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
Iden fy the lobes of the cortex supplied by each of the following: anterior cerebral artery,
middle cerebral artery, and posterior cerebral artery.
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.
- 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
Iden fy the types of glial cells, and indicate their main func on in the nervous system.
- Ependymal cells secrete cerebrospinal fluid
- Astrocytes provide nutri on 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 func ons of the spinal nerves and cranial nerves.
