MCAT PSYCHOLOGY HIGH YIELD CONTENT LEGITIMATE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2025
Cerebral cortex - ✔✔Forebrain, known as the cerebrum; outer covering of the
cerebral hemispheres; contains 4 lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal
Frontal Lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; executive function, impulse control, long-term
planning (prefrontal cortex), motor function (primary motor cortex), and speech
production
Broca's area - ✔✔Forebrain; important for speech production, found in the frontal
lobe
Parietal Lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; sensation of touch, pressure, temperature and pain
(somatosensory cortex); spatial processing, orientation, and manipulation
somatosensory cortex - ✔✔Forebrain; found in the parietal lobe, important for
touch, pressure, temperature, and pain sensation
Occipital lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; visual processing
temporal lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; sound processing (auditory complex), speech
perception (Wernicke's area), memory, and emotion (limbic system)
Wernicke's area - ✔✔Forebrain; found in the temporal lobe; important for speech
perception
,Basal ganglia - ✔✔Forebrain; coordinates muscle movement from cortex to the
rest of the brain and spinal cord; smooth movements and maintain posture
stability
limbic system - ✔✔Forebrain; primarily associated with emotion and memory;
includes the septal nuclei, amygdala, hippocampus
Septal nuclei - ✔✔Forebrain; part of the limbic system; feelings of pleasure,
pleasure-seeking behavior, and addiction
Amygdala - ✔✔Forebrain; part of the limbic system, controls fear and aggression
Hippocampus - ✔✔Forebrain; part of the limbic system; consolidates memories
and communicates with other parts of the limbic system through the fornix
Thalamus - ✔✔Forebrain; sensory relay station for all incoming senses EXCEPT
smell; sorts, and transmits to proper areas of the cortex
Hypothalamus - ✔✔Forebrain; active during high-arousal, aggressive behavior,
and sexual behavior; controls endocrine functions and ANS; maintains
homeostasis
hypophyseal portal system - ✔✔connects hypothalamus to anterior pituitary;
maintains coordination of the endocrine system
Hindbrain - ✔✔"brain stem"; contains the cerebellum, medulla oblongata, and
reticular formation
, Cerebellum - ✔✔part of the hindbrain; controls motor movement, and balance
medulla oblongata - ✔✔part of the hindbrain; controls breathing, reflex control,
and maintains upright posture
reticular formation - ✔✔part of the hindbrain; controls normal behavior of
walking, sleeping, waking, and other reflexes; degenerative part of this section is
related to Parkinson's Disease
Midbrain - ✔✔contains the inferior and superior colliculli
inferior colliculli - ✔✔important midbrain nucleus that is involved in the auditory
pathway
superior colliculli - ✔✔important midbrain nucleus that is involved in the visual
pathway, receiving information from the eye
Function of midbrain - ✔✔reception of sensory and motor information; generally
necessary for survival
Forebrain - ✔✔contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, limbic
system, and cerebral cortex
Function of hindbrain - ✔✔controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, and
general arousal (waking and sleeping); generally necessary for survival
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2025
Cerebral cortex - ✔✔Forebrain, known as the cerebrum; outer covering of the
cerebral hemispheres; contains 4 lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal
Frontal Lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; executive function, impulse control, long-term
planning (prefrontal cortex), motor function (primary motor cortex), and speech
production
Broca's area - ✔✔Forebrain; important for speech production, found in the frontal
lobe
Parietal Lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; sensation of touch, pressure, temperature and pain
(somatosensory cortex); spatial processing, orientation, and manipulation
somatosensory cortex - ✔✔Forebrain; found in the parietal lobe, important for
touch, pressure, temperature, and pain sensation
Occipital lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; visual processing
temporal lobe - ✔✔Forebrain; sound processing (auditory complex), speech
perception (Wernicke's area), memory, and emotion (limbic system)
Wernicke's area - ✔✔Forebrain; found in the temporal lobe; important for speech
perception
,Basal ganglia - ✔✔Forebrain; coordinates muscle movement from cortex to the
rest of the brain and spinal cord; smooth movements and maintain posture
stability
limbic system - ✔✔Forebrain; primarily associated with emotion and memory;
includes the septal nuclei, amygdala, hippocampus
Septal nuclei - ✔✔Forebrain; part of the limbic system; feelings of pleasure,
pleasure-seeking behavior, and addiction
Amygdala - ✔✔Forebrain; part of the limbic system, controls fear and aggression
Hippocampus - ✔✔Forebrain; part of the limbic system; consolidates memories
and communicates with other parts of the limbic system through the fornix
Thalamus - ✔✔Forebrain; sensory relay station for all incoming senses EXCEPT
smell; sorts, and transmits to proper areas of the cortex
Hypothalamus - ✔✔Forebrain; active during high-arousal, aggressive behavior,
and sexual behavior; controls endocrine functions and ANS; maintains
homeostasis
hypophyseal portal system - ✔✔connects hypothalamus to anterior pituitary;
maintains coordination of the endocrine system
Hindbrain - ✔✔"brain stem"; contains the cerebellum, medulla oblongata, and
reticular formation
, Cerebellum - ✔✔part of the hindbrain; controls motor movement, and balance
medulla oblongata - ✔✔part of the hindbrain; controls breathing, reflex control,
and maintains upright posture
reticular formation - ✔✔part of the hindbrain; controls normal behavior of
walking, sleeping, waking, and other reflexes; degenerative part of this section is
related to Parkinson's Disease
Midbrain - ✔✔contains the inferior and superior colliculli
inferior colliculli - ✔✔important midbrain nucleus that is involved in the auditory
pathway
superior colliculli - ✔✔important midbrain nucleus that is involved in the visual
pathway, receiving information from the eye
Function of midbrain - ✔✔reception of sensory and motor information; generally
necessary for survival
Forebrain - ✔✔contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, limbic
system, and cerebral cortex
Function of hindbrain - ✔✔controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, and
general arousal (waking and sleeping); generally necessary for survival
