MCAT Behavioral Sciences Question 27: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 27

12. Prolonged vitamin B12 deficiency can be associated with subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord. Patients with this disease have difficulty walking because they lose the ability to feel where their feet are in space. This represents a loss of:

  • A. vestibular sense.
  • B. kinesthetic sense.
  • C. parallel processing.
  • D. feature detection.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

Kinesthetic sense, or proprioception, refers to the ability to tell where body parts are in three-dimensional space. The sensors for proprioception are found predominantly in the muscles and joints. Loss of vestibular sense, choice (A), would also cause difficulty walking, but this would be due to a sense of dizziness or vertigo, not an inability to feel one's feet.

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