Brain Scans

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Strong: most Goes Against Passage2% picked this

   Although there are important exceptions, most cognition does in fact depend on independent modules located in specific

   The passage doesn't give us the means to quantity that at least 51% of cognition depends on independent modules located in specific regions of the brain. And since the author is a skeptic when it comes to the modular theory of the mind, this also seems to go against the gist of the author's tone.

   2%
2. B

   Too Strong: close to zero7% picked this

   The modular theory of mind holds that regions of the brain that are not engaged in a specific cognitive task have a rate of

   The modular theory doesn't think that inactive brain regions have an oxygen rate that is close to zero. It thinks that inactive regions have an oxygen rate that is close to its baseline. The fMRI starts by taking a baseline measurement of oxygen use. Let's say Region 1 and Region 2 are each using about 10 units of oxygen per second. Then we scan the brain while a patient is doing activity X. If Region 1 is still using 10 units and Region 2 is now using 15 units, we'll say that Region 2 is involved in activity X, whereas Region 1 is not. Since the fMRI shows the differential between the baseline measurement and the engaged in activity measurement, it would show these two values: Region 1: 0 units, Region 2: +5 units But while the differential for the unengaged region is close to zero, that doesn't mean they think the region itself is close to zero. They know it's still at its 10 units / second baseline measurement.

   7%
3. C

   Correct61% picked this

   During the performance of certain cognitive tasks, the areas of the brain that are most metabolically active show a rate of oxygen use that

   Why this is right

   This is essentially saying a necessary assumption of the subtractive method. Since the subtractive method is subtracting the baseline activity levels from the activity levels measured during Task X, it would have to be the case that the activity levels measured during Task X are higher than the baseline levels. If Task X involves a big uptick of activity in regions 2 and 5, an fMRI would look something like this. Baseline During Task X Differential R1 10 10 0 R2 10 16 +6 R3 10 10 0 R4 10 10 0 R5 10 18 +8 This answer is saying that in that 2nd column, the active regions will have a metabolic number that is higher than the numbers of the rest of the brain. The baseline number is sort of like "the minimum" metabolic activity for each region. When regions are more active, they surge above that number.

   Skill tested: Inference · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   61%
4. D

   Too Strong: all times14% picked this

   The baseline measurements of oxygen use taken for use in the subtractive method show that some regions of the brain have high

   We don't know whether this extreme claim is true, whether any region of the brain has high activity all the time.

   14%
5. E

   Too Strong: conditional16% picked this

   When a brain scan subject experiences anger, the subtractive method shows several regions of the brain as "lit

   The author says in the 2nd paragraph that "when I get angry, I generally do so for a reason" to imply that when he's angry for a reason there would be activity in both the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Maybe most anger is complex, reason-based anger, but the author has left room for the possibility that some anger is just pure irrational anger. That type of anger might only light up in one region. We don't have any direct support about what the subtractive method would show about anger, and this answer makes it seem like anger is guaranteed to trigger multiple brain regions to be higher than normal.

   16%