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Set 4: Central Ideas (Advanced)

Explanation

Answer: D

PASSAGE

The following text describes Neuroplasticity. For decades, neurobiology subscribed to the dogma that the adult brain was fixed and immutable. However, the discovery of neuroplasticity upturned this view, demonstrating that the brain's neural networks constantly reorganize themselves throughout life. This plasticity occurs on multiple levels, from cellular changes (increasing synaptic strength) to cortical remapping (where functions of a damaged brain region are assumed by another). Thus, the brain is not a static organ but a dynamic process reshaped by experience.

What pivotal shift in neurobiology does the text describe?

A. The realization that the brain is a hardwired computer
B. The discovery that the brain stops developing at childhood
C. The understanding that the adult brain is malleable and changes throughout life
D. The proof that new neurons are never born in adulthood✓ Correct

Detailed Explanation

Choice C is correct. The text contrasts the old dogma ('fixed and immutable') with the new view that neural networks 'constantly reorganize themselves throughout life.'

Key Evidence:

• "upturned this view"

• "dynamic process reshaped by experience"

Why others are wrong: A (Opposite), B (Opposite (Old dogma)), D (Opposite (Implicitly challenged by plasticity, though neurogenesis is a specific type)).

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