Exam 16: Disorders of Brain Function

When educating a patient about to undergo a pacemaker insertion, the nurse explains the normal phases of cardiac muscle tissue. During the repolarization phase, the nurse will stress that membranes must be repolarized before they can be reexcited. Within the cell, the nurse understands that

When reviewing the purpose/action of neurotransmitters as they interact with different receptors, the nursing instructor gives an example using acetylcholine. When acetylcholine is released at the sinoatrial node in the right atrium of the heart, it is

Following a spinal cord injury suffered in a motor vehicle accident, a 22-year-old male has lost fine motor function of his fingers and thumb but is still able to perform gross motor movements of his hand and arm. Which of the following components of his white matter has most likely been damaged?

A 21-year-old male is brought to the ED following a night of partying in his fraternity. His friends found him "asleep" and could not get him to respond. They cannot recall how many alcoholic beverages he drank the night before. While educating a student nurse and the roommates in the fraternity, the nurse begins by explaining that alcohol is

A nursing student having trouble moving his head from side to side is likely experiencing a problem with which type of neurons?

The neurotransmitter GABA mainly functions to trigger inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs). Therefore, when explaining this to a group of nursing students, the nurse will state that

A male newborn infant has been diagnosed with spina bifida occulta. Which of the following pathophysiological processes has most likely contributed to the infant's health problem?

A child is experiencing difficulty with chewing and swallowing. The nurse knows that which of the following cells may be innervating specialized gut-related receptors that provide taste and smell?

A badly burned firefighter has been in an induced coma for 3 weeks. When he awakens, he thanks his son for singing Happy Birthday to him a week earlier. Which part of the brain is responsible for allowing him to hear and comprehend while comatose?

A Tae Kwon Do (TKD) master is applying downward pressure just above the elbow joint on an attacker who immediately collapses to the ground. The TKD master knows the elbow joint can bend inward toward the body but not in the opposite direction. Which of the following reflexes is applicable to this example?

The nurse knows which of the following phenomena listed below is an accurate statement about axonal transport?

A 9-year-old girl has a diffuse collection of symptoms that are indicative of deficits in endocrine and autonomic nervous system control. She also suffers from persistent fluid and electrolyte imbalances. The nurse knows which of the following aspects of the nervous system listed below would her health care providers focus their diagnostic efforts on?

Not realizing that its surface was hot, a woman has quickly withdrawn her hand from the surface of a bowl that she was removing from a microwave. Which of the following phenomena has facilitated the rapid movement of her hand in response to the painful stimulus?

While assessing a critically ill patient in the emergency department, the nurse notes on the cardiac monitor an R-on-T premature ventricular beat that develops into ventricular tachycardia (VT). Immediately, the patient became unresponsive. The nurse knows that based on pathophysiologic principles, the most likely cause of the unresponsiveness is

Which of the following statements best conveys an aspect of the role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)?

An adult male has a new diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome. The nurse knows which of the following pathophysiological processes underlie the deficits that accompany the degeneration of myelin in his peripheral nervous system (PNS)?

During a clinical assessment of a 68-year-old client who has suffered a head injury, a neurologist suspects that a client has a sustained damage to her vagus (CN X) nerve. Which of the following assessment findings is most likely to lead the physician to this conclusion?

As you are walking in the park, a huge black Labrador (dog) runs up to you and places his paws on your shoulders. Immediately your heart starts racing, you feel palpations and anxiety, and your hands become a little shaky. The nurse knows that this response is primarily caused by

A 45-year-old diabetic male is experiencing erectile dysfunction. If his erectile dysfunction is caused by the nervous system, then the nurse can educate the patient that the venous blood supply to the penis is controlled by

A client with a diagnosis of depression has been prescribed a medication that ultimately increases the levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin between neurons. Which of the following processes will accompany the actions of the neurotransmitter in a chemical synapse?