Take a Diagnostic Exam ❮ 39Section II
Scoring rubric for Essay 1
This is a 9-point essay: 1 point for each of three areas of the brain affected by head trauma,
including observed symptoms, and 1 point for a description of how each term in [B] applies
to the study described.
Note: For all of part [A], responses should explain how each area of the brain plays a
role in one of the symptoms mentioned in the essay. Three of the four symptoms must be
explained.
Points 1−3: Explanation of source of headache, such as neuroinflammation and release of
neurotransmitters.
(Exception: Stating the headache is caused by head trauma without identifying damage
to brain.)
Explanation of source of dizziness, such as vestibular disruption of basilar membrane of
inner ear or cerebellar damage.
Explanation of source of difficulty reading, such as injury to any region of the brain
involved in the visual or comprehensive process of reading.
Explanation of source of impaired auditory comprehension, including Wernicke’s area.
Points 4−9: Design an experiment.
1 point for Population—Target population is the entire group of individuals or
employees in the industrial facility to which researchers are interested in generalizing
their conclusions. The research population comprises the experimental and control
groups, a smaller portion of the target population, through which generalizations can
be made.
1 point for Subject selection—a subgroup of the target population to be selected at
random so that each individual has an equal chance of being put in either the experi-
mental or control group.
1 point for Illusory correlation—which occurs when an event appears to be related to
the cause(s) of the symptoms but where in reality no relationship exists.
1 point for Correlation coefficient—a measure of how closely the symptoms displayed
by the subjects are related to the presence of the chemical.
1 point for Confounding variables—those forces which may be at work to skew the
experiment, such as fatigue, eye strain, cold/flu, etc., that may appear to present
similar symptoms in the population.
1 point for Ethics—the essay must address appropriate experimental consideration of
all subjects, following appropriate ethical guidelines.
Sample Essay
A traumatic brain injury can occur as a result of any force that penetrates or fractures the
skull. Traumatic brain injury from a car accident may affect many parts of the brain. The
likelihood is that the victim’s head either struck the windshield or a side window, or was
jarred resulting in a concussive force.
Post-traumatic headache may be caused by cellular injury which increases the con-
centration of extracellular potassium, triggering neuronal depolarization and the release
of neurotransmitters that promote headaches. Neuroinflammation can be characterized
by the activation of microglia and the release of proinflammatory chemicals, including
chemokines. Dizziness may be caused by a vestibular disruption as a dysfunction of the
basilar membrane of the semicircular canals of the inner ear, or a dysfunction of the part
of the cerebellum that controls balance and equilibrium. A number of brain regions are