Vocabulary Terms
This word means the part of the brain that controls thinking, planning, and making good decisions. It's the brain's "brakes."
What is the prefrontal cortex? (I’ll accept frontal lobe)
Scientists used this technology to look inside the living brain and take pictures of brain activity. It helped Dr. Blakemore study teen brains.
What is an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)?
In 1848, this man survived a terrible accident where a metal rod blasted through his skull, and he became one of the most famous cases in brain science history.
Who is Phineas Gage?
These two groups of scientists BOTH studied the brain, but they disagreed about how the brain works. Name EITHER group.
What are Whole Brainers OR Localizers?
When the author says teens "get a kick out of" taking risks, this phrase means:
What is they feel good/excited about it (they enjoy it/get a thrill)?
This brain tissue gets thinner as your brain matures; Blakemore's team measured it to figure out which brain regions were still developing.
What is grey matter?
This vocabulary word means "brings out" a feeling or response. Example: "A scary movie _____ fear in the audience."
What is elicits?
This researcher argued that brain development, not just bad choices, should be considered when teenagers are charged with crimes.
Who is Laurence Steinberg?
Before his accident, Phineas Gage worked in railroad construction as a _____; he was responsible, focused, and a great leader on the job.
What is a foreman?
This group of scientists believed that the WHOLE brain works together as one unit, no single part is in charge.
What are Whole Brainers?
In this sentence, "Doctors are fiercely divided over this very question. There are two rival schools." This word gives the BEST context clue for the meaning of "rival."
What is "divided"?
In "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," the main character had a strange condition. What did he THINK his wife's head was?
What is a hat (he tried to pick up his wife's head like it was a hat)?
This vocabulary word means "very interesting and convincing." Example: "She made a _____ argument that changed everyone's mind."
What is compelling?
This is the name of Steinberg's theory that the limbic system and prefrontal cortex develop at different speeds in teenagers.
What is the Dual Systems Model?
After the rod went through his skull, Phineas Gage's personality changed completely. He became _____, using bad language and making terrible decisions.
What is rude, vulgar, profane, impulsive, or unable to control behavior?
This vocabulary word means "limited to one specific area." Scientists debated whether brain functions were _____ or spread across the whole brain.
What is localized?
The author of the Phineas Gage passage writes about skull bumps in short, punchy sentences. This choice shows the author feels this way about phrenology.
What is skeptical/thinks it's silly or ridiculous/doesn't take it seriously?
"The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" is an example of this type of text; it tells a true story about a real patient to explain how the brain works.
What is (informational/narrative) non-fiction?
This word means impossible to put up with; so bad you just can't stand it. Example: "The pain was ___________."
What is intolerable?
This phrase describes the problem in the teenage brain: when one part of the brain grows faster than the other, causing them to be out of sync.
What is the developmental mismatch (or "the gas pedal before the brakes")?
The rod went through THIS specific part of Phineas Gage's brain, which is why scientists became so interested in figuring out what that part actually does.
What is the frontal lobe (or prefrontal cortex)?
This now-discredited practice involved studying the bumps on a person's skull to figure out their personality and intelligence. Localizers/Phrenologists used it before brain science advanced.
What is phrenology?
When the author compares the teen brain to a car with a "gas pedal but no brakes," this is an example of this type of figurative language.
What is a metaphor (or analogy)?
This doctor, a Whole Brainer, argued that Phineas Gage SHOULD have died if specific brain areas controlled specific functions; so his survival proved the whole brain works together.
Who is Dr. Bigelow?
This is the part of the brain that controls emotions and rewards; the "gas pedal" that makes teens want to take risks and seek thrills.
What is the limbic system?
Blakemore's research showed that the prefrontal cortex (the part that controls decision-making) doesn't fully develop until this point in a person's life.
What is adulthood (or mid-20’s/around age 26)?
Gage's case was so important because it gave scientists the first real evidence that the brain controls this, something people used to think came from the heart or soul.
What is personality (or behavior/who you are as a person)?
In the end, modern brain science showed that BOTH groups were partly right. This is the conclusion scientists reached about how the brain is organized.
What is the brain is both localized AND interconnected (parts have jobs AND work together)?
In informational text, an author uses this text structure when they explain a problem and then explain how it can be solved or why it happens. The Blakemore article uses this structure.
What is problem and solution (or cause and effect)?
This is the central idea that connects ALL the texts in Unit 7C: Gage, Blakemore, and "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat."
What is the brain controls who we are/behavior, personality, and identity?
A student writes: "Teenagers make bad decisions because they WANT to get in trouble." Using evidence from TWO of the texts we read, explain why this statement is NOT fully accurate, and what is actually happening in the teenage brain.
Strong answers should include:
-The developmental mismatch: the limbic system (gas pedal/rewards) develops before the prefrontal cortex (brakes/decision-making)
-Evidence from Blakemore's MRI study showing teen brains are still developing
-Teens aren't making bad choices on purpose; their brain biology makes impulse control harder
-Reference to at least one text (Inventing Ourselves, Blakemore article, etc.)
(Award points for any answer that shows understanding of the developmental mismatch and cites a text)