In a study of the mechanisms underlying associative memory—or the ability to learn and remember connections between inherently unrelated things—neuroscientists Kei Igarashi, Jasmine Chavez, and others presented mice with memory tests. The team discovered that fan cells, a type of cell found in the medial temporal lobe of the brain, are necessary for the acquisition of new associative memories. They also found that fan cell activity requires dopamine, a chemical the brain produces in response to pleasure and rewards. Consequently, receiving a reward should likely help to ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Explanation
Context: Igarashi, Chavez et al. found that fan cells (in the medial temporal lobe) are necessary for acquiring new associative memories. Fan cell activity requires dopamine, which the brain produces in response to pleasure and rewards. The blank states what receiving a reward should therefore help accomplish.
Answer: C) increase an individual's capacity to form associative memories.
Why? Reward → dopamine → fan cell activity → associative memory acquisition. The causal chain is direct: rewards trigger dopamine which enables the fan cells needed for associative memory. C states this enhancement effect.
Traps:
- A) decrease an individual's capacity to utilize dopamine → the opposite; rewards produce dopamine, they don't decrease its utilization
- B) increase capacity to recognize differences between unrelated things → associative memory is about linking things, not distinguishing them
- D) decrease an individual's capacity to create fan cells → rewards support fan cell activity; they don't reduce fan cell creation