Mental status exam I

Question 1

definition:

Answer 1

a mental status exam looking at the patient’s current state of mind and mental functioning

Question 2

what is circumstantial thinking?

Answer 2

includes too many irrelevant details - details being told are not relevant to patient’s story / concern / condition

Question 3

what is tangential thinking?

Answer 3

responding to something similar to the question, but not actually to the question; or losing track of the conversation and taking a different direction without ever returning to the main point

Question 4

what is derailment / loose associations?

Answer 4

loss of the logical connection between ideas or sentences as they are being spoken

Question 5

what are clang associations?

Answer 5

linking words together because they sound similar, rather than because of the ideas involved

Question 6

what is flight of ideas?

Answer 6

occurs when the speaker jumps very rapidly from one loosely associated topic to the other

Question 7

what is thought blocking?

Answer 7

occurs when there is an abrupt stop or break in the flow of ideas

Question 8

what is perseveration?

Answer 8

repetition of the same words or ideas over and over, despite the conversation moving on

Question 9

what are the two types of delusions?

Answer 9

• non-bizarre: logically possible

- bizarre: logically impossible

Question 10

what are ideas of reference?

Answer 10

belief that random communications are directed at the patient (e.g. TV announcer using the word ‘kill’ means the police will kill the patient that night)

Question 11

what are ideas of influence?

Answer 11

belief that outside forces are influencing the patient’s mind or behavior