Biological Systems MCAT Practice Exam

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Study for the Biological Systems MCAT Exam. Ace your test with flashcards and multiple choice questions, including hints and explanations. Be prepared for your exam!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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What is the main function of the parietal lobe in the brain?

Emotional processing
Visual information processing
Contains somatosensory cortex
Motor coordination

The correct answer is: Contains somatosensory cortex

The parietal lobe plays a crucial role in processing and integrating sensory information from different modalities, particularly related to touch, temperature, pain, and proprioception (the sense of body position). The somatosensory cortex, located within the parietal lobe, is specifically responsible for receiving and interpreting sensory signals from the skin, muscles, and joints. This region of the brain enables individuals to perceive sensations from different areas of the body and is essential for coordinating physical interactions with the environment. Understanding the various functions of the brain lobes helps in distinguishing distinct neural pathways and processing areas. Other functions mentioned in the answer choices relate to different lobes; for instance, emotional processing is primarily associated with the limbic system, visual information processing is centered in the occipital lobe, and motor coordination is mainly the domain of the cerebellum and the frontal lobe. Thus, option C accurately identifies the primary function of the parietal lobe.