Self-study
Science writer: Conclusion The deterioration of cognitive faculties associated with Alzheimer's disease is evidently caused by the activities of microglia—the brain's own immune cells. ███ ███ ██████ ████ █████████████ ███ ██ ██████ ██ ████ █████████████████ ██████ ████ ██ ███████████████ █████ ████████████ ████████ ████ ███████████ ███ ██████ ██ █████████ ███ ███████ ██ ████ ███ ██████ █████ ██ ███████████ ███ █████ █████████ ███ █████████ ██████ █████ ███████ ████████ ██ █████████ ███████ ████ ███████ ███████████ ███████ █████ ██████ ███████ █████████ ███ ███████ █████████ ██████████
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that the deterioriation of mental faculties associated with Alzheimer’s is caused by microglia. This is based on the fact that this deterioriation can be slowed by acetylsalicylic acid. In addition, microglia attack certain protein deposits that build up in people with Alzheimer’s, and in the process the microglia damage healthy brain cells.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that acetylsalyclic acid’s slowing of deterioration involves slowing or otherwise affecting the activity of microglia.
17.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███ ███████ ████████ █████████
a
The inability of ███████████ ████████ ██ █████████ ███ ███████ ██ ████ ███ █████ ██ ███ ██ █ ██████████ ██ ███ ███████ ██████ ███████
We already know that microglia attacks the protein BA, which hurts healthy brain cells. The origin of protein BA doesn’t add any relevant information, since we already have enough in the premises to understand the relationship between microglia and the protein BA.
b
Acetylsalicylic acid reduces ███ ██████████ ██ ██████ █████ ██ ███ ██████
This strengthens by connecting the premise about acid to the conclusion. We know that microglia are the brain’s immune cells. If the acid can slow deterioriation, and it also reduces microglia, that suggests microglia might have a role to play in causing deterioration.
Causal mechanism
Causal mechanism
Answers that help establish how an alleged cause could produce the alleged effect.
c
The activity of █████████ ███████ ██ █ ████████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ███████ ████████ ██ ███ ██████
Even if microglia decreases the buildup of protein deposits, we already know how the microglia hurts healthy brain cells by attacking the protein BA. The missing part of the argument concerns the acetylsalylicic acid.
d
The protein BA ████████ ██████████ ████ ███ █████████ █████████ ██ ███ ██████
We know the microglia attack the protein BA. (D) therefore suggests microglia might have some protective effect on cognitive functions, which doesn’t strengthen the argument that microglia cause deterioration of those functions.
e
Immune reactions by █████████ █████ ██ ███████ ████████ ██ ███ █████ █████ ████ ████████████
It’s not clear what “immune reactions by microglia” are or how they relate to damage to cognitive faculties.