LSAT 154 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A part of the brain called the the amygdala is involved…

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. The brain’s amygdala is involved in fear.
2. Urbac-Wiethe disease destroys the amygdala and people with the disease don’t sense fear.
3. But they do experience extreme fear like people with normal amygdalae, when given a breath high in carbon dioxide.

ANALYSIS: So it seems that while the amygdala is involved in sensing fear, it’s not the sole determinant of a person experiencing fear. Otherwise, the carbon dioxide wouldn’t have triggered an extreme fear response. Obviously, something else is also involved in sensing fear.

___________

1. We don’t know about any other type of intense response so we can’t say that this stimulus would support these responses.
2. The stimulus also doesn’t mention the amygdala’s other functions, so we don’t know this.
3. This is besides the point. U-W is the only disease we know about.
4. We only know that U-W disease affects the amygdala, we don’t know if it affects anything else.
5. CORRECT. If someone without a functioning amygdala is still able to experience extreme fear, then there must be another part of the brain also involved in sensing fear.

Recap: The question begins with “A part of the brain called the the amygdala is involved”. It is a Most Strongly Supported question. Learn how to master LSAT MSS questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.