Neurological and Endocrine Disorders Flashcards
Loss of __________ neurons in the __________ is believed to contribute to depression and cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
A. dopamine; striatum
B. norepinephrine; striatum
C. dopamine; locus coeruleus
D. norepinephrine; locus coeruleus
Answer D is correct. The locus coeruleus is located in the brain stem and produces much of the brain’s norepinephrine. A loss of norepinephrine neurons in this area of the brain has been linked to several of the non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease including depression, cognitive deficits, and sleep disturbances.
Which of the following symptoms is least characteristic of hypothyroidism?
A. decreased libido
B. confusion
C. heat intolerance
D. unexplained weight gain
Answer C is correct. Heat intolerance is characteristic of hyperthyroidism, while cold intolerance is characteristic of hypothyroidism.
A(n) ________ is caused by a blood clot that developed in an artery in the brain:
A. embolic stroke
B. thrombotic stroke
C. intracerebral hemorrhage
D. subarachnoid hemorrhage
Answer B is correct. An ischemic stroke occurs when there is blockage in a cerebral artery that is due to a blood clot that developed in an artery in the brain (thrombotic stroke) or that developed in the heart or elsewhere in the body and traveled through the bloodstream to the brain (embolic stroke). A hemorrhagic stroke is due to bleeding that occurs when there is a rupture in a cerebral artery within the brain (intracerebral hemorrhage) or in the space between the brain and the membrane that covers the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage).
Which of the following types of seizures involves a very brief loss of consciousness with a blank stare?
A. focal onset impaired awareness
B. generalized onset non-motor
C. tonic
D. clonic
Answer B is correct. Generalized onset non-motor seizures are also known as absence seizures and involve a very brief loss of consciousness with a blank or absent stare and few or no other symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease has been linked to a degeneration of dopamine-producing cells in the:
A. amygdala.
B. suprachiasmatic nucleus.
C. pons.
D. substantia nigra.
Answer D is correct. Parkinson’s disease is due to a loss of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra.
A client with __________ tells her therapist that, since her traumatic brain injury, she has had trouble disciplining her children because, when she tells them she’s angry about what they’ve done, she doesn’t sound angry and, as a result, they don’t listen to her. As the client describes the problems she has with her children, she speaks in a monotone.
A. athetosis
B. aprosodia
C. dysarthria
D. dystonia
Answer B is correct. This client is exhibiting aprosodia, which is the inability to express or understand variations in the rhythm, pitch, timing, and loudness of speech that are used to convey emotional information. Note that the inability to express emotion in one’s speech is more specifically referred to as motor aprosodia, while the inability to understand the emotional content of another person’s speech is referred to as sensory aprosodia.
Migraine headaches have been linked to abnormal levels of:
A. norepinephrine.
B. serotonin.
C. glutamate.
D. acetylcholine.
Answer B is correct. The cause of migraine headaches is not totally understood, but they have been linked to a low level of serotonin.
Idris is in a serious car accident that causes a traumatic brain injury. After regaining consciousness in the hospital, Idris has anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia that affects memories for the ten months prior to the accident. When Idris’s long-term memories begin to return, he’s most likely to recall which of the following first?
A. his sister’s graduation from college nine months ago
B. the fight he had with his parents about his financial situation six months ago
C. the birthday dinner he had with a close friend one week before the accident
D. where he was going when he was in the accident
Answer A is correct. When retrograde amnesia occurs as the result of a traumatic brain injury, recent memories are affected more than remote memories; and, when lost memories begin to return, those from the most distant past are recovered first.
Which of the following is an MRI-based technique that is used to detect abnormalities in the brain’s white matter?
A. electroencephalography
B. computerized axial tomography
C. positron emission tomography
D. diffusion tensor imaging
Answer D is correct. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that is used to detect abnormalities in the brain’s white matter, which consists of myelinated axons that connect areas of the brain. It does this by assessing the rate and direction of the movement of water molecules along the axons.
