LSAT 152 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q22

LR Question 22 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Although severing a motor nerve kills part of the nerve …

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

• Severed motor nerves can regrow, but slowly.
• The farther the injury is from the muscle, the longer regeneration takes.
• Successful regeneration depends on the original nerve sheath guiding the new growth.
• But that sheath starts breaking down after about three months unless living nerve tissue remains inside it.

ANALYSIS: There seems to be a race here between regeneration and deterioration. New nerve tissue has to reach its destination before the pathway it depends on breaks down.

So we can draw an inference about what might improve or hinder regeneration.

If we can find a way to improve or sustain living nerve tissue, then regeneration could be more likely, and vice versa.

___________

1. Too strong. The stimulus never gives any basis for a precise “double the likelihood” relationship.
2. The passage says the sheath begins to disintegrate, but says nothing about reversing or slowing that process.
3. The sheath begins to disintegrate after three months. That doesn’t mean restoration becomes impossible at that point.
4. CORRECT. Since living nerve tissue prevents sheath disintegration, maintaining it could preserve the pathway needed for successful regrowth, improving the chances of regeneration in at least some cases.
5. We know nerves can regenerate naturally, so the stimulus doesn’t support a general claim that recovery without surgery is unlikely.