Module 1 Lesson 4 - 5

Self-Check

1. The old saying or adage that "an elephant never forgets" appears to have some scientific basis. What area of the brain should you examine to begin researching about this saying? Describe two technologies that might be useful in this research.


2. Five situations in which you may find yourself are described below. Identify the part of the brain involved in processing these situations.
   
   
   1. You are on a boat. A sudden wind rocks the boat violently. You feel dizzy and nauseated, and you want to vomit. 
      
      
   2. You are in a restaurant. The waiter brings you the bill. You reach into your pocket to retrieve your wallet. 
      
      
   3. You are on a hike in the mountains, and suddenly, you come upon a grizzly sow with her two cubs. She rears and growls menacingly. Your heart rate as well as your breathing rate increase dramatically. 
      
      
   4. You see a backpack. 
      
      
   5. You hear a dog barking.



Use the diagram of a neural pathway through the spinal cord to answer the next question.



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3. 1. Explain what would happen if only Structure 2 were cut.
      
      
   2. Explain what would happen if only Structure 4 were cut.
      
      
   3. Explain what would happen if Structure 5 were cut.


4. Complete this self-check activity to compare the autonomic nervous system with the somatic nervous system.
   
   


5. Complete this self-check activity.
   
   




Use the following information to answer the following two multiple-choice items.



The tips of the fingers are sensitive enough to discriminate raised points on a surface as well as the locations of these points. Knowing this, in the nineteenth century Louis Braille invented the Braille system of reading for blind people. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by up to six raised dots. A blind person who has learned the Braille system can read up to 50 words a minute.


6. Must a person preparing Braille script know if the blind reader is left-handed or right-handed and, thus, change the order of the script accordingly?
   
   
   1. No. The sensations from both the right hand and the left hand are carried by the spinal cord into the same hemisphere of the cerebrum. 
   2. No. The sensations received separately by the left and right cerebral hemispheres from the right and left hands are integrated before they are interpreted into language. 
   3. Yes. The sensations from the right and left hands are carried to the left and right cerebral hemispheres, respectively, and therefore, the information is interpreted in reverse order. 
   4. Yes. The movements of the right and left hands are initiated by opposite sides of the cerebral cortex.


7. This sentence can be read using the eyes, but if the sentence is printed in Braille, it can be read using the fingertips. This fact illustrates that
   1. the brain can form the same meaning from various sensations 
   2. nerve impulses initiated by touch are identical to nerve impulses initiated by sight 
   3. receptors for touch and receptors for sight respond to the same environmental stimuli 
   4. the lobe of the brain that receives sensory stimuli from the eyes is the same lobe that receives sensory stimuli from the fingers