Question 1

On mental status examination, the patient's thoughts reveal lack of directedness, excessive details, and difficulty with closure. This pattern is called

Accepted Answer

Circumstantiality is a pattern of thinking that involves excessive detail, tangentiality, and difficulty with closure. The individual may eventually return to the main topic, but only after providing excessive, unnecessary information. Concrete thinking is a pattern of thinking that is literal and lacks abstract or metaphorical thinking. Perseveration is repeating the same idea or word over and over again. Thought blocking is the sudden interruption of a thought process.

Question 2

Which of the lobes of the brain is primarily involved in auditory hallucinations?

Accepted Answer

The temporal lobe is primarily involved in auditory processing and is therefore the lobe most commonly associated with auditory hallucinations.

Question 3

Which area of the brain is a very primitive in terms of evolution and is involved in swallowing, arousal, and breathing?

Accepted Answer

The brainstem is a primitive area of the brain that controls basic life-sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing, and arousal. The other options, such as the parietal lobe and insula, are involved in more advanced functions like sensory perception and emotional processing. The cerebellum is also involved in more complex tasks such as motor coordination and balance.

Question 4

On evaluation, the patient appears to be having difficulty with working memory, planning, and insight into his problems. The psychiatric advanced practice nurse recognizes that these symptoms are associated with problems with the

Accepted Answer

The frontal lobe is responsible for executive functioning, which includes working memory, planning, and insight.

Question 5

This area of the brain is called a system and is made up of the rim of the medial (innermost) portions of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes and overlies the brainstem. It is involved with emotions and is referred to as the

Accepted Answer

The description given matches the limbic system, which is involved in emotion and is composed of various structures in the rim of the innermost portions of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. The ventricular system refers to a network of fluid-filled cavities in the brain, the reticular activating system is involved in arousal and consciousness, and the blood-brain barrier system refers to the protective barrier that regulates the passage of substances between the blood and the brain tissue.

Question 6

The principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system is

Accepted Answer

Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It is involved in learning, memory, and information processing. GABA is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, while serotonin and acetylcholine are other neurotransmitters that serve different functions.

Question 7

Which one of the following is not one of the meninges, the three layers that cover the brain?

Accepted Answer

The reticular formation is not one of the meninges. The meninges are the dura mater (outermost layer), arachnoid mater (middle layer), and pia mater (innermost layer) that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Question 8

The brain structure that is believed to have a gating/filtering function and is the area of the brain through which all sensory information passes en route to various cortical areas is which of the following:

Accepted Answer

The thalamus is the structure of the brain that acts as a relay station for all sensory information, except smell. It filters incoming sensory information and sends it to the appropriate regions of the cortex for further processing. The brainstem and reticular activating system are involved in regulating arousal and consciousness, while the hypothalamus is involved in regulating basic physiological processes such as hunger, thirst, and body temperature.

Question 9

Which of the following structures provides for communication between the two hemispheres of the brain?

Accepted Answer

The corpus callosum is a large band of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain and allows for communication and coordination between them. The lateral ventricle is a fluid-filled space within the brain, the basal ganglia are a group of nuclei involved in movement and motor control, and the hypothalamus is a region of the brain responsible for regulating numerous bodily functions such as hunger and thirst, as well as controlling the release of hormones from the pituitary gland. While all of these structures are important for brain function, only the corpus callosum directly facilitates communication between the two hemispheres.

Question 10

Which structure of the brain is involved in learning, processing information into memories, and assigning the time and the place to memories?

Accepted Answer

The hippocampus is a part of the limbic system that is involved in learning, processing information into memories, and assigning the time and the place to memories. The olfactory bulb is primarily involved in processing smells, the limbic system is involved in emotions and behavior, and the occipital lobe is involved in processing visual information.

Question 11

The function of this brain structure was formerly believed to be limited to maintaining balance and learning motor skills but is now believed to be involved in learning and emotions and may be involved in autism. It is the

Accepted Answer

While all of the brain structures listed serve important functions, recent research has suggested that the cerebellum is involved in much more than just motor control and balance. It has been implicated in learning and emotion, and studies have found differences in cerebellar structure and function in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Question 12

Which of these brain structures puts emotional meaning on a stimulus, forms emotional memories, and is involved with rage and fear?

Accepted Answer

The amygdala is responsible for putting emotional meaning on a stimulus, forming emotional memories, and is involved with rage and fear. The hippocampus is responsible for forming new memories, the temporal lobe is involved with hearing and memory, and the midbrain is involved with various sensory and motor functions.

Quiz 2: Neurobiological Theory of Psychiatric Disorders: Brain Functioning, Brain Development and Prenatal and Perinatal Factors Disrupting Brain Development