Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Subject-verb Agreement + Meaning

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

• An adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used.

A. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “are” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “encoded in 86 billion of the neurons…”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the learned information is encoded in only 86 billion of the (supposedly many more found in the human brain) neurons; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses the adverb “merely” rather than the adjective “a mere” to modify the noun “four small parts”; remember, an adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used.

B. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “are” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “encoded in 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the learned information is encoded in only 86 billion of the (supposedly many more found in the human brain) neurons; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

C. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “are” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the adverb “merely” rather than the adjective “a mere” to modify the noun “four small parts”; remember, an adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used. Besides, the usage of plural noun phrase “human brains” is inferior to the singular usage in other answer choices.

D. Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the singular verb “is” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option D correctly uses the phrase “the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain”, conveying the intended meaning of the sentence- that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. Further, Option D correctly uses the adjective phrase “a mere” to modify the noun “parts”. Moreover, Option D correctly uses the adjective “mere” (rather than the adverb “merely” in some of the incorrect choices) to modify the noun “four small parts”.

E. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “encoded in 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the learned information is encoded in only 86 billion of the (supposedly many more found in the human brain) neurons; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the adverb “merely” rather than the adjective “a mere” to modify the noun “four small parts”; remember, an adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used.

D is the best answer choice.