Gerrie Was in an Accident That Damaged Her Visual Cortex

question 313

Multiple Choice

Gerrie was in an accident that damaged her visual cortex and left her blind. What type of plasticity would MOST likely happen to help Gerrie recover function?

• A) The amount of somatosensory cortex dedicated to her Braille-reading finger would increase.
• B) The size of her hippocampus, occipital lobe, and prefrontal cortex would decrease.
• C) The amount of somatosensory cortex dedicated to her Braille-reading finger would decrease.
• D) The size of her hippocampus, occipital lobe, and prefrontal cortex would increase.

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Definitions:

Antidepressant

A class of drugs designed to alleviate symptoms of depression by adjusting the chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Agonist

A drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitter’s effects.

Antagonist

An antagonist is a substance that blocks or dampens the effects of a neurotransmitter or hormone, or a character in a story who opposes the protagonist.

Neurotransmitter

Substances that carry messages from one nerve cell to another through the synaptic gap within the nervous system.