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AP Science Practice Check Your Understanding
®
Examine the Concept Apply the Concept
▶ Explain the functions of the key structures of the limbic ▶ Why do you think our brain evolved into so many
system. interconnected structures with varying functions?
▶ Explain how the pons, hippocampus, and amygdala are
influencing you as you read this text.
Answers to the Examine the Concept questions can be found in Appendix C at the end of the book.

Exploring Research
®
PRACTICE AP Science Practice Methods & Design
Research Methods & Design As a result of research on traumatic brain injuries, the NFL implemented
(SP 2) new procedures to protect players who experience concussions, including
neuropsychological tests for players before they can return to play after sustaining a
®
(Times vary) On the AP exam, head injury. Research shows that repeated concussions are associated with increased
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Not for redistribution.
students will be assessed on their depression, impaired judgment, memory loss, and, in later life, dementia.
Researchers autopsied the brains of former players and found neurodegeneration
research methods and design at a much higher rate than in the general population: A study of 111 deceased NFL
knowledge within the context of players found that 99 percent had neurodegeneration ( Mez et al., 2017 . )
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
psychological content. Therefore, • Determine which research design was employed in the 2017 study — correlational or
experimental.
we have included an Exploring • Explain the difference between the sample and the population in this study.

Research Methods & Design feature • Explain what conclusions you can and cannot draw from this study.

throughout the units. Consider • What ethical guidelines, if any, would prevent you from using random assignment

assigning this feature for homework when studying this topic?
or using it as a class activity to help Remember, you can always revisit Unit 0 to review information related to psychological research.
students strengthen their skills.
The Cerebral Cortex
ASSESS 1.4-7 What four lobes make up the cer ebral cortex, and what ar e the func-

1.4-7 What four lobes make up the cerebral cortex, and what are the func-
tions of the motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, and association areas?
tions of the motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, and association areas?
Answers to Exploring Research The cerebrum — the two cerebral hemispheres that contribute 85 percent of the brain’s
Methods & Design Questions weight — enables our perceiving, thinking, and speaking. Like other brain structures,
including the thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala, the cerebral hemispheres come
• The study was correlational. There as a pair. Covering those hemispheres, like bark on a tree, is the cerebral cortex , a

was no random assignment. cerebral [seh-REE-bruhl] thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells. (The scholars who first dissected and
cortex the intricate fabric of
labeled the brain used Latin and Greek words as graphic descriptions. For example,
The researchers were looking for interconnected neural cells cortex means “bark.”)
covering the forebrain’s cerebral
the association between football hemispheres; the body’s ultimate Mammals’ complex cerebral cortex offers high capacity for learning and thinking,
playing experience (concussions) control and information- enabling them to adapt to ever-changing environments. What makes humans distinct
processing center.
is the size and interconnectivity of our cerebral cortex ( Donahue et al., 2018 ). Let’s take
and neurodegeneration. a look at its structure and function.
• The sample is 111 deceased NFL
players. The population is all NFL 70 Unit 1 Biological Bases of Behavior
players.
• You can’t draw a causal conclusion
from this study because it was not our ultimate information-processing cen- TEACH 1.4-7 15/12/23 9:23 AM
03_myersAPpsychology4e_28116_ch01_002_163.indd 70
an experimental design. You can ter, responsible for our higher-order think-
only conclude that almost all the ing. Because of its wrinkled appearance in Enrichment
deceased players in this study had humans, only about a third of it is visible on Tell students that the wrinkles on the brain
neurodegeneration. the surface. You can illustrate the surface are made by fissures and folds called gyri and
• It would be unethical to randomly area of the cortex for your students by taping sulci. Gyri (singular: gyrus) are the grooves
assign participants to experience together two 11-inch by 17-inch sheets of in the brain. Sulci (singular: sulcus) are the
head trauma. paper. Before crumpling the paper into a ball, humps between the grooves.
say, “This sheet represents the approximate
surface area of the cerebral cortex. How can
ENGAGE 1.4-7 we fit it inside a skull small enough to be

(5 minutes) Explain to students delivered through the mother’s birth canal?”
that the cerebral cortex, the deeply Nature’s answer is to crumple it up.
convoluted surface of the brain, is

70 Unit 1 Biological Bases of Behavior

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