Section 8: The Brain

Multiple-Choice Questions

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1. What a baby experiences in infancy can:

a. affect its IQ
b. determine which brain pathways develop
c. affect its capacity to form loving relationships as an adult
d. all of the above



2. If a baby has very frightening things happen to it often enough it can cause:

a. certain brain pathways to develop
b. certain brain pathways not to develop
c. permanent changes in the brain
d. all the above



3. Attunement is a term referring to:

a. a tune that mother, father and baby all like
b. a tune that is meant to soothe the baby
c. when the signals from mother to baby and baby to mother are properly matched
d. when a father has fallen in love with his baby



4. A supportive and involved father, grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbours and friends living in a community that values and supports mothering is important.

a. not necessarily
b. possibly
c. sometimes
d. always



5. At birth the newborn baby's brain is:

a. fully developed
b. as developed as it ever will be
c. not developed at all
d. none of the above



6. At approximately what age is the hippocampus fully developed?

a. birth
b. one year
c. two years
d. age 18



7. If the amygdala has been conditioned by fearful experiences it can:

a. make the hippocampus act like a sea and horse
b. make it very difficult or impossible to remove the force of unremembered fears
c. require a really good therapist to help the person get over it
d. help the person remember the details of the fearful experiences



8. We now know a great deal about the brain because:

a. scientists are a lot smarter now
b. there are more women scientists now than there used to be
c. the MRI, the PET scan and tracers have been developed
d. we don't know any more about the brain than we did one hundred years ago



9. Which of the following can damage a baby's growing brain?

a. teratogens
b. certain diseases during pregnancy
c. early child abuse and neglect
d. all of the above



10. Unconscious memories are memories that:

a. you can't remember but can make you feel scared
b. are created when the hippocampus and cerebral cortex are not involved
c. are stored in the amygdala and its related parts
d. all the above