RC Question 26 Explanation
DISCUSSION: On a question like this, the right answer will be directly supported by the passage.
___________
- This contradicts everything the author is arguing for. The author agrees with Uttal, who thinks that there is a general cognition that controls brain activity. See lines 17-21.
- This is an exaggeration. Lines 37-46 show how subtractive diagrams are made. In those, the baseline level is subtracted away. It is clear there is a baseline level higher than zero.
- CORRECT. See lines 37-46. They explain the differential diagrams. There is a baseline level of oxygen use, and then an increased level of oxygen use associated with a certain mental activity. The author agrees that this happens – their point is that it is misleading to show only the difference.
- The passage didn’t say this. It’s clear that all parts of the brain have some baseline use. But we don’t know what high use is. The passage never defined it. The author only talks about parts of the brain having higher use during some activities. Higher is a relative term, which is very different from high, an absolute term.
- Quite the opposite. The author specifically gives anger as an example in lines 21-27. This implies that some people do say that the amygdala is the only region lit up. Presumably, they think this because modular theory brain scans show only the amygdala lit up.
I figured C was wrong due to the qualifying statement at the beginning (noted in all caps, emphasis mine)
“C. DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF COGNITIVE TASKS, the areas of the brain that are most metabolically active show a rate of oxygen use that is higher than that of the rest of the brain.”
I assumed the tricky catch here was the fact that areas of the brain that are most metabolically active ALWAYS will show a rate of oxygen use that is higher than that of the rest of the brain. This is due to the premised equivalency of metabolic activity and oxygen use. Why would it be caveated as being limited to “during the performance of certain cognitive tasks”?’
I did catch the problem in answer D about what “high” use was or wasn’t, but I ultimately decided this was less a problem of splitting hairs, and should be inferred based on what the article did say.
Frustrated.
Ah. So, the text doesn’t limit things to only circumstance. Suppose I say:
Flying a plane, the man felt happy.
I’m not saying the man is happy only when flying a plane. But flying the plane is one of the situations where he will feel happy.
In other words it is totally possible the metabolism/oxygen connection happens in all circumstances, not just during the performance of those tasks. But it does still apply during those tasks. Hope that helps!
Note: This is an old comment but I wanted to clarify the point.