Nineteenth-century neurology was dominated by two opposing schools of

Question

Nineteenth-century neurology was dominated by two opposing schools of thought. Early in the century Franz Gall claimed that the bumps on a person’s head revealed personality traits, each of which was controlled by a specific region of the brain. While this pseudoscience—phrenology- enjoyed a fashionable success. Gall was ridiculed by the leading neurologist of the 1840s, M. J. P. Flourens, who argued that the brain functioned as a whole, that individual bodily functions were not dependent on separate regions of the brain, and that it was impossible to predict the specific effects of any localized form of brain damage.

In 1861 the neuroanatomist Paul Broca challenged Flourens and the “holistic" school by demonstrating that damage to a specific region on the left side of the cerebral cortex caused severe language problems. Subsequently, the neurologist Carl Wernicke argued that the region discovered by Broca was somehow responsible for translating language formulated in the brain into the mechanical movements of the vocal cords, the tongue, and the mouth. Wernicke believed that a separate region he himself had discovered was responsible for the recognition of speech as distinct from other sounds. Clinicians soon found that such "localization" of brain functions explained neurological disorders in addition to language disorders. In 1884, for example, a patient with partial paralysis had a brain tumor removed in the first such operation in medical history. The neurological symptoms enabled the surgeon to locate the exact position of the tumor.

Although this "localization" approach was largely dismissed by scientists between the 1920s and the 1950s, the research performed by the neurologist Norman Geschwind seems to have vindicated the theories of Broca and Wernicke. Beginning in 1965 Geschwind persuasively argued that in human beings, sensory information is initially processed in primary sensory areas of the brain, then relayed to neighboring regions known as association areas, where powerful associations are made between visual and auditory sensations, auditory and tactile, tactile and visual, and so forth. Damage to association areas could, according to Geschwind, explain why some brain-damaged patients can, for example, see previously familiar objects without recognizing them, but, upon touching the same objects, name them without difficulty.

1. According to the passage, the work of Wernicke bore which of the following relationships to the work of Broca?

A. Wernicke’s intent was to continue Broca’s work, but Wernicke unintentionally initiated the twentieth-century dismissal of Broca’s theories.
B. Both Wernicke’s work and Broca’s work challenged Flourens’ findings but in radically different ways.
C. Wernicke’s work was similar to Broca’s work but dealt with a different kind of neurological disorder.
D. Wernicke accepted the theory of Broca’s work but challenged one of Broca’s major clinical findings.
E. Wernicke’s work elaborated on Broca’s work and supplemented it with a related finding.

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. introduce a new and controversial theory about neurological functioning
B. trace the development of an important theory about neurological functioning
C. detail the history and development of a long-discredited pseudoscience
D. discuss the importance of the work of an eminent scientist
E. question the basic premise of nineteenth-century neurological theory

3. The author of the passage mentions the operation performed in 1884 primarily to illustrate which of the following?

A. That localization theory could be applied to neurological functions other than language
B. That tumors in the brain could affect the mobility of limbs as well as the capacity for speech
C. That holistic theories could be empirically supported
D. That individual bodily functions were not dependent on separate regions of the brain
E. That the capacity for speech and the ability to move limbs were located in the same region of the brain

4. The passage suggests which of the following about phrenology and the localization theories of Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind?

A. While the work of Geschwind built on the work of Broca and Wernicke, Broca and Wernicke built on the work of Gall.
B. The localization theorists Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind viewed the debate between Gall and Flourens as a debate between fashionable but inept pseudoscientists.
C. Phrenology and the localization theories of Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind were opposed to the holistic school but approached brain function differently.
D. The theories of Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind were conceived in part as an attempt to defend the localization concept against scientists who associated localization theory with phrenology.
E. Such localization theorists as Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind were able to validate phrenology using modern scientific techniques.

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Show Answer Question #1

Official Answer

E

Show Answer Question #2

Official Answer

B

Show Answer Question #3

Official Answer

A

Show Answer Question #4

Official Answer

C

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ndwz · Answer

Hi, can someone please explain why E is wrong in Q4

MrCupcake33 · Answer

I'd argue E is wrong in Q4 due to the fact that phrenology "claimed that the bumps on a person’s head revealed personality traits, each of which was controlled by a specific region of the brain." Localization theory had nothing to do with personality traits, but rather, neurological functions, and therefore, Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind did not validate phrenology, as their findings proved the localization of brain functions, not personality traits.

squishyjelly · Answer

Can someone explain why A (While the work of Geschwind built on the work of Broca and Wernicke) is wrong for Question 4? And also why C (Phrenology and the localization theories) is correct? I was deciding between the two of them, and chose A because I thought that phrenology and Broca,etc. had the same thoughts about how the brain functioned (specific regions controlling certain parts of the brain).

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

First. A is wrong because we don't have specific support for the idea that these people built on each other's work. We do have that for Wernicke building on Broca (hence the answer to #1), but we don't know that either of them actually built on Gall's work, or that Geschwind built on their work. It's not enough that their work is related and comes in order. For instance, if you write plays today, we can't say that your work "builds on Shakespeare's." We'd only say that if there's something in the earlier work that the later person is using as the starting point for their work.

As for C, it's correctly pointing out that all these thinkers looked at brain function in terms of localization, as opposed to the holistic school that saw the brain as operating as a whole, without any reliance on specific locations for certain functions. However, Gall's ideas were much simpler than those of the later localization theorists. He thought that our actual personality traits were represented by specific areas of the brain, and that we could tell these traits from feeling people's heads. His approach wasn't really scientific or evidence-based, hence the dismissal of his work as pseudoscience. The localization scientists, however, were conducting research that looked at how specific processes relied on different parts of the brain. They developed specific ideas about function from empirical evidence, rather than making broad, vague claims about predicting personality. So these scientists' approach was pretty different from that of Gall.

lily123400 · Answer

Question 1:
In paragraph 2, we see that Broca said damage to a region caused language problems. Wernicke added that the region Broca mentioned is responsible for translating language.
So here, Wernicke is adding more specific details to Broca's discovery showing that E is correct since they are both talking about that specific region.

Question 2: 
 A. introduce a new and controversial theory about neurological functioning  We are not just introducing a new theory we are discussing one opposing view and then later developing the theory. Plus it's not a "new" theory
 
B. trace the development of an important theory about neurological functioning 
The passage talks about different researchers and their findings on the theory at large.
 C. detail the history and development of a long-discredited pseudoscience 
It's not a long discredited pseudoscience because it's been validated by several researchers over time and gained more respect

D. discuss the importance of the work of an eminent scientist  We discussed works of many scientists not just one
 E. question the basic premise of nineteenth-century neurological theory 
Not questioning the basic premise -- this is not ever revealed

Question 3:
So the operation is mentioned after it states that localization functions explain neurological disorders as well as language. Then the example says that because of the patient's neurological symptoms, they were able to find and locate the tumor. This supports the statement that certain symptoms can be caused by certain regions aka choice A

Question 4:
This is a bit tricky. 
So we know B, W, and G all had similar theories and findings centering that localization does exist but it differs in the specific findings about localization.

Answer A: This is not correct because they all kind of built on the work of Gall with Gall saying that different regions of the brain serves different functions
Answer B: This is blatantly incorrect because they never said G+F are pseudoscientists, plus their work correlates with Gall
Answer C: They were all in opposition to F and the holistic school which refers to that brain functions as a whole and not dependent and they did all have different approaches. I was a little confused by the last part but they did all have different discoveries on the same basis. 
Answer D: They are not defending anyone it seems like they are simply discovering things which relate to the idea of localization. This implies the reason they did so was to defend something.
Answer E: They're not using modern scientific technologies since the studies was from late 1800s and early 1900s. That's a long time ago so it's not really possible for them to use modern techniques. Also nowhere does the passage ever mention modern. Plus, their studies weren't about validating phrenology, that's separate from localization.

Robo_123 · Answer

Most of my answers were wrong in this RC. How did you go about it?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. According to the passage, the work of Wernicke bore which of the following relationships to the work of Broca?

Main Points

Broca (1861) challenged Flourens by showing that damage to a specific brain region caused language problems. 
 Wernicke later argued that Broca’s region was responsible for translating language into motor movements for speech. 
 Wernicke also discovered a separate region responsible for recognizing speech as distinct from other sounds.

Wernicke didn’t contradict Broca; he built on Broca’s finding by identifying another region and refining the functional description of Broca’s region. The passage says  “Wernicke argued that the region discovered by Broca was ... responsible for translating language ...”  and that Wernicke’s own region handled speech recognition. This is an elaboration and supplementation of Broca’s work.

A. No.  Wernicke didn’t cause dismissal of Broca’s theories; dismissal happened later (1920s–1950s) and Geschwind later vindicated Broca and Wernicke.

B. No.  They both challenged Flourens, but not in  “radically different ways” ; Wernicke extended Broca’s localization approach.

C. No.  Not a different kind of neurological disorder; both dealt with language, just different aspects.

D. No.  Wernicke didn’t challenge Broca’s clinical finding; he accepted it and proposed a functional refinement.

E. Yes.   Wernicke’s work elaborated on Broca’s and supplemented it with a related finding (another speech region).

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Main Points

The passage discusses the conflict between two schools of thought in neurology:

Localization of brain functions (specific regions control specific abilities) 
 Holistic brain functioning (brain works as a whole)

The passage is not mainly about introducing a new theory or about one eminent scientist (rather it covers several). It’s not mainly questioning a premise, it’s tracing how a theory (localization) developed, was challenged, dismissed, and then revived.

A. No,  Geschwind’s work revived old theories, not entirely new.

B. Yes,   the theory of localization of brain function from Gall to Geschwind.

C. No,  phrenology is only a small part; the focus is on scientific localization theory.

D. No,  multiple scientists are discussed, not just one.

E. No,  the passage explains the debate, not mainly to question it.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. The author of the passage mentions the operation performed in 1884 primarily to illustrate which of the following?

First locate the context of the 1884 operation in the passage. It’s in the   second paragraph  , after discussing Broca and Wernicke’s work on language localization.
 
  The sentence before it says:

Clinicians soon found that such  "localization"  of brain functions explained neurological disorders in addition to language disorders.

Then:

In 1884, for example, a patient with partial paralysis had a brain tumor removed ... The neurological symptoms enabled the surgeon to locate the exact position of the tumor.

Now interpret the   author’s reason for including this example   
 
The operation is an example of the preceding claim, that localization explained more than just language disorders. The example shows localization applied to motor function, not just language.

Use POE

A. Yes,    this matches what we are looking for. 
 
 B. No,  the example doesn’t mention speech; it’s about paralysis only. 
 
 C. No,  the operation supports localization, not holistic theory. 
 
 D. No,  that’s Flourens’ holistic view; the example supports the opposite. 
 
 E. No,  not stated or implied.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. The passage suggests which of the following about phrenology and the localization theories of Broca, Wernicke, and Geschwind?

Main points about phrenology vs. later localization theories

Gall’s phrenology:  early 19th century, claimed bumps on head reveal personality traits, controlled by specific brain regions, called pseudoscience. 
 Flourens opposed Gall, argued for holistic function. 
 Broca (1861) challenged Flourens with evidence of language area, this is scientific localization, not phrenology. 
 Wernicke and Geschwind continued scientific localization approach.

Now determine the relationship between phrenology and later localization theories:

Phrenology was a pseudoscientific form of localization. Broca, Wernicke, Geschwind used scientific methods to map brain functions to areas, but they didn’t build on Gall’s specific ideas, they opposed Flourens’ holism, but their approach was different from Gall’s pseudoscience. The passage does not say they built on Gall’s work, nor that they validated phrenology.

A. No,  passage doesn’t say that; Gall’s phrenology is presented as pseudoscience, not a foundation for Broca.

B. No,  Flourens was a serious scientist opposing Gall; Broca opposed Flourens, not Gall.

C. Yes:  
 - Phrenology opposed holism (Gall vs. Flourens)
 - Broca etc. opposed holism (Broca vs. Flourens)
 - But phrenology used bumps on skull; Broca etc. used brain damage studies, a different approach.

D.  Not supported; passage doesn’t say they were reacting to that association specifically.

E. No,  they validated localization, not phrenology.

Answer: C

Nineteenth-century neurology was dominated by two opposing schools of

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Nineteenth-century neurology was dominated by two opposing schools of

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