Final Exam: Neuropsychology of Learning: Fresno Pacific University, Winter/Spring, 2010

This started out as a mock final, but morphed into your actual final exam.  This exam is open book, open blog, open note and open mind.  Please bring in your answers to the final class, which will be on May 5, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm.  We will correct the exams and have one final class session on that day.  Please contact me if you have any questions about the exam or what will take place on the final day of class. 

1.  Here's your opportunity to showcase the skills you acquired and strengthened in the cognitively challenging game we played in class, the neurological psychology edition of the game, JOHNNY HAD IN HIS POCKET. 

a.   List 5 parts of the brain and assign to each a two-word discription of one of it's main functions.
b.  List 3 disorders or traumas of the brain, 2 of which covered by movies we saw in class, and, in one or two words, list an ameliorative intervention or an etiological cause.

Very few questions on the final will involve lecture or discussion of material that is not also, in some way, presented in your text.  But this second question should prepare you in the event that a question about extra-text, in-class lecture/discussion material is introduced.

In the class held on April 14, I compared and contrasted a phenomenological approach to understanding human experience with a scientific, experientail approach.  The following original song (hear audio sample and see lyrics below) approaches the human experience by comparing and contrasting two seemingly distinctly different human experiences, that of being released from the womb, and that of being released from a stint in prison.  Listen to the song sample, read the lyrics, and then answer the questions below. 

The Day Merle was Released from ‘Quentin

(Was the Day I Was Released from Mama’s Womb)

words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2010

(as aired on KWMR radio)
New Dr BLT song
(audio link)

it’s two o’clock in the mornin’

Merle hasn’t slept a wink

Today is his release date

And he can hardly think

Of anything at all

Except for freedom’s call

Freedom from the doom

Freedom from the gloom

The day that Merle was released from ‘Quentin

Was the day I was released from mama’s womb

 

I was born in Steinbach, Manitoba

And on that fateful day

Never thought that I’d be headin’

Headin’ all the way

To the very same place

The very same county

He was born

Where he grew

The day that Merle was released from ‘Quentin

Was the day I was released from mama’s womb

 

It’s 3 o’clock in the mornin’

The sun ain’t come up yet

Grabs all his belongings

Smokes one cigarette

He’ll be leavin’ this prison

And it can’t be too soon

The day that Merle was released from ‘Quentin

Was the day I was released from mama’s womb

 

It’s 4 o’clock in the mornin’

My mama feels the pain

Of a little tiny baby

And Bruce would be my name

I wiggle deep within her

And it can’t be too soon

The day that Merle was released from ‘Quentin

Was the day I was released from mama’s womb

 

It’s 5 o’clock in the mornin’

 

 

The gates are open wide

Sees the road before him

Takes one great big stride

Meanwhile back in Steinbach

My mom gives one more push

Inside that room

The day that Merle was released from ‘Quentin

Was the day I was released from mama’s womb

 

The day that Merle was released from ‘Quentin

Was the day I was released from mama’s womb

2.  The commonality between the two phenomenological events that exists is:
a.  both involve release, and, the end of something involving a long period of anticipation
b.  both involve prison
c.  both involve a crime
d. both involve musicians, one famous, and one with a relatively small underground following
e.  both involve an end, followed by a beginning
e. a and d
f. a, d, and e
g.  none of the above

3.  The differences that exist between these two phenomenological events that exists is:
a. one involves the release of a country star from prison, and one involves the birth of a boy whose music would eventually write and record a song referencing the inmate/country star
b.  one involves a prison, the other, a womb
e. none of the above
f.  all of the above, except e 

4.  Techniques that allow scientists to peer into the human brain include:
a.  PET
b. CAT
c. MRI
d. EEG
e. all of the above

5. The central nervous system (CNS) consists of:
a. the brain and eyes
b. the cerebellum and Broca's area
c. the spinal cord and brain
e. the corpus collosum and the brain stem

6.  The ____________ gather(s) neural impulses from other neurons:
a. dendrites
b. synapses
c. the myelin sheath
d. neurotransmitters
e. axon

7.  An axon is:
a. part of a neuron
b. a long tubular transmitting pathway
c. a carrier of neural signals
d. sometimes wrapped in a myelin shealth
e. all of the above

8.  The junctures between neurons are called:
a. myelin sheath
b. terminal buttons
c. axons
d. synapes
e. nodes

9.  The fatty substance surrounding the axons is called:
a. the myelin sheath
b. terminal buttons
c. axons
d. synapses
e. the ranvier sheath

10.  At the synapse neurotransmission is achieved by means of:
a. a direct physical link between neurons
b. terminal buttons
c. axons
d. synapses
e. the ranvier shealth

11.  Neuronal firing can be measured using:
a. transitory potentials
b. event-related potential recordings
c. chromic electrode implants
d. impusle monitors
e. they cannot be measured accurately

12.  The movie, Autism, The Musical, illustrated the myriad benefits of:
a. creative intervention strategies, employed in an effort to engage both sides of the the brains of autistic children
b. the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic to challenge the minds of autistic children
c. homework in inculcating self-discipline in autistic children
d.  all of the above
e.  none of the above

13.  Mr. and Mrs. Dezz Parrot are pulling their hair out over the behavior of their two year old son, Bipp.  One day he's manageable, the next, he's an absolute nightmare to manage.  They've tried to reward him with corndogs and candy, and it seems to have worked in the short-term, but in the long-term, the effects of this regimen have been dubious at best.  They hear about this psychiatrist in town named Dr. Bigkidd who specializes in children with behavioral problems so they call him up and he invites them in for a consultation.  They get a babysitter and go in to see the doc, reporting to them that their son's behavior is "like a roller coaster," and that at times, his tantrums are unmanagable.  He assuages their anxiety by stating:  "I believe your son may be suffering from bipolor disorder and I recommend Remeron."  Dr. Bigkidd goes on to declare that their Bipp likely has too much serotonin and noradrenaline going in and out of his nerve endings, and may have too much of the neurohormone acetylcholine in his system. He recommends Remeron for it's ostensible ability to block the passage of the aforementioned stimulant chemicals (serotonin and noradrenaline) and its ability to counteract the effects of a surfeit of acetylcholine.  Dr. Bigkidd is making myriad mistakes, and Mr. and Mrs. Dezz would be foolish if they automatically took his advice.  The biggest mistake Dr. Bigkidd is making, according to the Frontline film, The Medicated Child, as viewed in class on April 21, 2010, is:

a. possible diacritical nuitritional antecedents to Bipp's behavior are not considered
b. he should be prescribing Lithium instead of Remeron
c. because of the shortage of scientific data on children and psychotropic medications, he is generalizing results of studies conducted on adults, onto children, whose brains, unlike those of adults, are not fully developed
d. none of the above

14.  In addition to critics from the film, your instructor, as evident in a statement he made in class on 4/21/10, would object to Dr. Bigkidd's recommendations on the grounds that...
a. his opinion reflects an abject failure to consider that mental health problems are multidimensional in their etiology and so he automatically ignores possible environmental causes such as poor nutrition and inadequate role models in the home
b. he is not licensed
c. Dr. Bigkidd is an illegal alien
d. Dr. Bigkidd is projecting his own issues onto the child
e. none of the above
f.  all of the above

15.  Billy Bob's 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Wise, has been worried about Billy ever since she learned he was taking Seroquel for bipolar disorder per his doctor, Dr. Doap Amean's orders.  He told her, "Don't worry, Ms. Wise, I'll be much easier to manage now that my serotonin, dopamine and histamine can no longer bind so readily to my cell receptors. "  Billy Bob is obviously wise beyond his years, and her teacher is wise for being concerned about Billy.  But why?

a. according to the movie, Medicated Children, the brain's action in response to Seroquel in adults, may not be exactly the same.
b. brains of children, and those of adults are not the same
c. childrens brains are not fully developed, but, are, instead, in a relatively inchoate state of development, as compared with adults 
d. in the short term, medications like Seroquel may be, ostensibly, working, but we do not know enough about the effects of Seroquel on children to assume that the substance does not have deleterious effects
e.  all of the above
f. none of the above
g. none of the above except one or two, but I don't know which ones, not exactly
 
16.  (Page 336 in your text, Learning Disabilities and Brain Function) In 1968 the World Federation of Neurology offered two definitions of dyslexia (Critchley, 1970).  These included:

a. "A disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and socio-cultural opportunity.  It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities which are frequently of constitutional origin."

b. "An inexplicable failure to learn to read by a chld whose intelligence level, oral language development, and sensory capacities appear to be fully adequate to permit the development of reading skills... " (Benton, 1975).

c. "A disoder in children who, despite conventional classroom experience, fail to attain the language skills of reading, writing, and spelling comensurate with their intellectual abilities."  

d. all of the above

e. a and c

f. e and f

17.  (Page 336 in your text, Learning Disabilities and Brain Function) Harris and Hodges (1981) have produced an operational definition that includes which three conditions:

a. 1. failure to read despite normal sensory processes, intelligence and opportunity 2. no birth defects 3. the reading disability must be moderate to severe

b. 1. failure to read despite normal sensory processes, intelligence, and opportunity 2. the reading disability must be severe; and 3. it must be due to CNS dysfunction

c.  1. failure to write and spell despite normal reading ability  2.  only mild to moderate birth defects that haven't been dectected yet
3. the writing ability must be free of spelling errors

d. all of the above

18.  (Page 349 in your text, Learning Disabilities and Brain Function)
In Alexia Without Agraphia:
a. The subject cannot write but can still read

b. The subject cannot read but can still write

c. The subject can read, but can't spell if her/his life depended on it

d. is usually the life of the party, but cannot read, write or speak

19.  (Page 324 in your text, Learning Disabilities and Brain Dysfunction):
Expressive signs of childhood aphasia include:
a. Little or no expressive speech with near-normal understanding.
b. telegraphic speech in which there is an absence of connectives (articles, prepositions, conjunctions) and a presence of what Benton (1963a) has called "syntactical poverty."  This lack may also show in a child's writing.
c. articulation may be normal or nearly normal on repetition but poor in spontaneous speech
d. all of the above

20.  Neuropsychological Clinical Classifications (as represented in table 1.1 on page 11 in your text, Learning Disabilities and Brain Dysfuntion) include all except:

a. brain damaged
b. MDB
c. specific learning disability
d. non-specific learning disability
e. normal
f. psychiatric

21.  (Page 10 of your text), The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders, Feifer and Fina) 

Jill Vargenheimer has a very severe case of dyslexia.  Her teacher, and her parents are deeply concerned because they understand that the type of dyslexia she suffers from is the most severe.  She experiences extreme difficulty with reading, spelling, and written language on both a dysphonetic and visual-spatial level.  She is likely suffering from:

a. deep dyslexia 
b. surface dyslexia
c. developmental dyslexia
d. mixed dyslexia
e. cranial incontinuity
f. deep lesion of the left hemisphere
g. all of the above

22.  According to Feifer and Fina, authors of your text, The Neuropsychology fo Reading Disorders (pages 13-17), The Discrepancy Model of determining reading disabilities is problematic because:

a. A discrepancy model of reading disabilities precludes early identification
b. Intelligence is more a predictor of school success, and not necessarily a predictor of successful reading
c.  There is no evidence to suggest that poor readers on the lower end of the reading distribution differ from individuals classified as dyslexic
d. A discrepancy model promotes a wait and fail policy forcing interventions to come after the fact
e. all of the above

23.  The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders (page 21) True or False?
In neuropsychology, the term cerebral dominance generally refers to the lateralization of language functions

24.  The Neuropsychology of Reading Disorders (page 21) True or False?

Language functions tend to be more lateralized in females than in males.

25.  Sarah, a teenage girl, hitched a ride with a young man on a Harley who was showing off and, as a result, was hit by a truck.  Sarah flew off the bike and hit her head on the pavement.  She was not wearing a helmet.   After being rushed to a hospital, a neurological surgeon determined that her Broca's area may have been damaged.  Findings that may have led him to this conclusion could potentially include:

a. a diminished ability to produce recognizable speech
b.  the presence of seizures
c. an inability to comprehend the speech of others
d. none of the above
e. all of the above 

26.  The two divisions of the autonomic nervous systems include:
a. the sympathetic and the parasympathetic 
b. the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous systems
c. none of the above
d. all of the above

27.  True or False

The sypathetic division of the autonomic nervous system is our flight-or-fight system and it kicks in as we respond to stress

28.  True of False

The paraysmpathetic division restores and maintains normal functioning

29.  The movie, Ghost in Your Genes, which was viewed on April 28 in class, suggests that science may be on a brink of a dramatic paradigmatic shift due to:

a. The genome project
b. new finds suggesting a key role that epigenetics may play on human behavior
c. Darwin's theory involving survival of the fittest
d. none of the above
e. all of the above  

30.  While rather tacky and, ostensibly, officiously opportunistic at points, the movie, ADD/ADHD, Smart Solutions, shown in class on April 28, introduces the notion that:

a. yoga may have beneficial effects for children
b. epigentics can reverse the effects of ADHD within two generations
c. harmful food additives, including many of the dyes and preservatives, can have a delerious effect on behavior and can play a powerful role in contributing to or causing the symptoms of ADHD  

THE END!