Recently, scientists studying how the brain interprets expressive gestures that communicate emotional states undertook a study comparing Line neural activity relating to hand gestures expressing (51 emotions such as "I don't care" to neural activity relating to instrumental gestures intended to change behavior through spoken commands such as "sit down." Volunteers undergoing fMRI testing were shown brief videos of both expressive gestures and instrumental gestures and were asked to interpret the import of the gestures. Expressive gestures activated different neural networks than did instrumental gestures. Expressive gestures activated neurons in the paracingulate cortex and the amygdala, both of which are known to be activated during social interaction. Instrumental gestures, by contrast, activated neurons in a region of the brain associated with language.

In context, the word import most nearly means

A. enticement
B. influx
C. transmission
D. magnitude
E. connotation




The function of the highlighted portion of the passage is to

A. describe the role that neural networks play in perception
B. refute a hypothesis anticipated at the outset of the study
C. highlight the definitive nature of certain aspects of neurology
D. summarize the conclusion to be drawn from a study
E. explain the appropriateness of a particular methodology