Question

What is one of the strongest lines of evidence supporting the idea that cognition is primarily confined to the brain?

a. Increased oxygen saturation in the heart during intense thinking
b. Loss of cognitive function following damage to specific brain regions
c. Enhanced cognitive abilities in individuals with amputated limbs
d. Preservation of cognition in individuals with severe brain injuries

What distinguishes the impact of losing a foot, kidney, or eye from the impact of brain damage on cognition?
a. Loss of any body part equally impairs cognition
b. Damage to specific brain areas is crucial for cognition
c. The brain plays a supportive role in maintaining other body functions
d. Cognitive abilities are equally affected by damage to any organ

What does the cataloging of the effects of damage to different parts of the brain provide?
a. Evidence for the brain's exclusive role in motor control
b. A map of the brain's functions and their relation to cognition
c. Support for the idea that cognition is distributed throughout the body
d. Information on how other organs contribute to cognitive processes

What observation from experiments with animal brains removed from their bodies challenges the notion of exclusive brain-based cognition?
a. Animal brains disconnected from the body show no signs of cognitive activity
b. Animal brains, when isolated, demonstrate enhanced cognitive abilities
c. Cognition is completely lost in animals with isolated brains
d. Learning can occur in isolated animal brains connected to circuitry

In individuals with brain death or in comas, what can be monitored to assess the state of cognition?
a. Heart rate and blood pressure
b. Activity levels in the limbs
c. Brain waves and neural activity
d. Oxygen saturation in peripheral organs

How does the brain scan of an individual in a coma or with brain death typically appear?
a. Similar to an active and healthy brain
b. Exhibiting irregular patterns with signs of distress
c. No observable differences from a conscious state
d. Depicting a complete cessation of brain activity

Answer 1

The evidence that cognition is primarily confined to the brain comes from observing the loss of cognitive functions following specific brain damage, establishing a map of the brain's functions. Monitoring neural activity allows assessment of cognitive states in comatose or brain-dead individuals, with scans typically showing cessation of activity.

Step-by-step explanation:

One of the strongest lines of evidence supporting the idea that cognition is primarily confined to the brain is loss of cognitive function following damage to specific brain regions. Unlike the loss of other body parts, such as a foot or kidney, which do not directly impair cognition, damage to particular areas of the brain can lead to specific cognitive deficits depending on the region affected. This is because the brain houses crucial cognitive functions such as memory, attention, language, and reasoning.

Through the cataloging of effects of brain damage, researchers have been able to develop a map of the brain's functions and their relationship to cognition. For example, damage to the temporal lobe can affect memory, as observed in patient HM who underwent a bilateral temporal lobectomy. Studies of individuals with strokes have also contributed significantly to understanding the regionalization of cognitive functions in the brain.The phenomenon of learning in isolated animal brains connected to circuitry challenges the notion of cognition being exclusively brain-based. It opens avenues for understanding how cognition might be supported by the brain but could also interact with other systemsFor individuals with brain death or in comas, professionals monitor brain waves and neural activity to assess the state of cognition. Typically, the brain scans of such individuals show a cessation of brain activity, distinguishing them clearly from active and healthy brains.