AP PSYCHOLOGY

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR

THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
When a basketballer shoots for a goal, which part of the brain sends the message instructing her to raise her shooting arm?
A
the primary somatosensory cortex
B
the prefrontal lobe
C
the occipital lobe
D
the primary motor cortex
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The motor cortex sends instructions to muscles to cause voluntary movements. Set: The many voluntary muscle movements involved in playing a sport are controlled by the motor cortex part of the brain.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cerebellum. The cerebellum is located at the back of the brain beneath the occipital lobes. It is separated from the cerebrum by the tentorium (fold of dura). The cerebellum fine tunes motor activity or movement, e.g. the fine movements of fingers as they perform surgery or paint a picture.

Detailed explanation-3: -The biggest part of the brain is the cerebrum. The cerebrum is the thinking part of the brain and it controls your voluntary muscles-the ones that move when you want them to. So you need your cerebrum to dance or kick a soccer ball.

Detailed explanation-4: -The premotor cortex appears to be involved in the selection of appropriate motor plans for voluntary movements, whereas the primary motor cortex is involved in the execution of these voluntary movements.

Detailed explanation-5: -The primary function of the motor cortex is to generate signals to direct the movement of the body. It is part of the frontal lobe and is anterior to the central sulcus. It consists of the primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, and the supplementary motor area.

There is 1 question to complete.