Download A.P. Psychology Rubric: Chapter 2 10 point question Question: You

A.P. Psychology
Rubric: Chapter 2
10 point question
Question:
You are engaged in a combative and exciting game of checkers with your best friend. Describe
how each of the following regions of the brain might be activated during the match.
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Reticular formation/reticular activating system (RAS)
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Frontal lobes
Occipital lobes
Parietal lobes
Temporal lobes
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Medulla
Students will earn 1 point for demonstrating an understanding of how the specific brain region operates
during a game of checkers. The premise of the question must be kept, ie. Playing checkers. Using
alternative scenarios will cause the student to lose points, even if the description of brain function is
correct. Definitions alone will not score. Incorrect information will not cause the student to lose points,
unless there is a direct contraction within the same point. Examples are not considered to be exhaustive.
1 point: reticular formation
Recognize that this region is associated with arousal or attention to incoming messages; may note that a
reduction in firing from this area leads to sleep and damage can cause coma.
Example: “The RAS maintains vigilance even if the game gets boring or if you are waiting for your
friend to move her piece.”
1 point: thalamus
Refers to this region as the brain’s “relay center” passing along sensory signals to higher levels of the
brain; may note that the thalamus also conducts motor messages generated in the frontal lobe, down the
spinal cord.
Example: The thalamus, the brain’s sensory switchboard, receives information from the sensory neurons
and routes it to higher brain functions that deal with hearing, seeing, and touching. This region allows the
person playing checkers to actually hear and see their opponent or to feel the checker pieces in his hands.
1 point: hypothalamus
Recognize this region as involved in maintaining homeostasis, ie. need for food, water, or regulation of
body temperature.
Example: The hypothalamus, the region of the brain that regulates homeostasis, might trigger sweating in
the checker player as she sits under hot lights.
1 point: frontal lobes
Recognize that the motor cortex, in the frontal lobes, control body movement, OR recognize that
decision-making or personality resides in this lobe.
Example: The motor cortex controls body movement, allowing the checker player to move her pieces
across the board.
Example: The pre-frontal lobes enable judgment and planning. During the performance, the checker
player would need to plan a strategy of what pieces to move.
1 point: occipital lobes
Recognize that the occipital lobes contain the visual cortex that allow us to “see” the world.
Example: The occipital lobes contain the visual cortex allowing the pianist to see the checker board or
the opponent.
1 point: parietal lobes
Recognize that the parietal lobes enable us to feel pain, pressure, and temperature.
Example: the parietal lobes allow us to feel pressure on our skin. This would allow the checker player to
feel the checker pieces in her fingers.
1 point: temporal lobes
Recognize that the temporal lobes are associated with hearing.
Example: The temporal lobes would allow the checker player to hear the sound of the pieces as she
moves them across the board or hear her say, “KING,” triumphantly.
1 point: hippocampus
Recognize that the hippocampus is involved in the formation of new memory.
Example: The hippocampus is important in the formation of new memory. It would be important for the
pianist to have a well-functioning hippocampus in order to remember later her win at checkers.
1 point: amygdala
Recognize the role of the amygdala in the creation of emotional responses, specifically anger/aggression
and/or fear.
Example: If the checker player is losing her match, she might feel angry at her opponent because of the
stimulation to her amygdala.
1 point: medulla
Recognize the role of the medulla in controlling heartbeat, breathing, or the neural cross-over.
Example: The medulla would increase the heart rate during exciting play and promote breathing even
through challenging play.