Deck 6: Attention and Developmental Disorders: Attention-Deficithyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Question 1

ADHD is characterized by ________ and ________.

A) excessive talking; an inability to follow instructions
B) an inability to attend to tasks; an excessive display of motor activity and impulsivity
C) inattention to cognitive tasks; excessive talking
D) excessive fidgeting; disruptive classroom behaviors

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding ADHD?

A) A diagnosis of ADHD usually occurs in late childhood.
B) In many cases, ADHD symptoms dissipate by early adulthood.
C) Approximately 8 percent of children under the age of ten are diagnosed with ADHD at any given time.
D) Childhood ADHD frequently occurs with other behavioral disorders.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

All of the following behaviors would be consistent with an ADHD diagnosis EXCEPT

A) trouble organizing activities.
B) careless mistakes and inattention to detail.
C) excessive speech.
D) excessive concentration on a single task.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The underlying pathology of ADHD involves

A) cortical hypoarousal.
B) reticular activating system abnormalities.
C) depressed dopamine activity in the frontal cortices.
D) All of the above are correct

Question 5

Quantitative EEG studies of children affected by ADHD reveals

A) hyperarousal of the cortex.
B) hyperarousal of the motor systems.
C) hypoarousal of most cortical areas.
D) Both b and c are correct

Question 6

In normal individuals, the predominant EEG pattern during wakefulness is ________, whereas in individuals with ADHD it is ________.

A) theta; beta
B) beta; theta
C) alpha; beta
D) beta; delta

Question 7

Cortical hypoarousal accounts for

A) forgetfulness.
B) excessive fidgeting.
C) poor attentiveness and concentration.
D) Both a and c are correct

Question 8

Attentional regulation involves

A) neural activation of appropriate sensory cortices.
B) attending appropriately to specific sensory information.
C) receiving sufficient sensory information from sensory receptors to activate sensory cortices.
D) sufficient activation of the sensory thalamus.

Question 9

In individuals with ADHD, the thalamic reticular nucleus

A) inhibits sensory information from activating the sensory cortex.
B) is disinhibited.
C) routes sensory information to the wrong sensory cortex.
D) is not regulated by dopamine.

Question 10

The excessive activity observed in ADHD appears to be

A) caused by hyperarousal of the motor systems.
B) attempts by patients to self-stimulate an underaroused cortex.
C) seizure-like excitability of motor areas of the cortex.
D) unaffected by reinforcing or punishing contingencies.

Question 11

The dopamine-deficit theory of ADHD proposes that

A) dopamine deficits in the mesolimbic system underlie ADHD.
B) dopamine deficits in the cortex cause hypoarousal.
C) dopamine deficits in the caudate nucleus and frontal cortex may contribute to cortical hypoarousal.
D) ADHD is caused by dopamine deficiencies throughout the brain.

Question 12

Evidence supporting the dopamine-deficit theory of ADHD includes finding

A) an increased expression of dopamine transporters in the caudate nucleus.
B) fewer dopamine transporters in the frontal cortex.
C) decreased dopamine inhibitory control over arousal systems.
D) depressed dopamine activity in the thalamic reticular nucleus.

Question 13

The most widely used assessment scale for measuring treatment outcomes for ADHD is the

A) ADHD Rating Scale.
B) Brown ADHD Scales.
C) Ritvo-Freeman Real Life Rating Scale.
D) Connor's Global Index.

Question 14

A more objective assessment of ADHD that measures changes in cortical activity following treatment involves

A) fMRI.
B) Connor's Global Index.
C) EEG.
D) Both a and c are correct

Question 15

Which of the following was NOT a conclusion from the NIMH's study of treatment options for ADHD?

A) Drug abuse risk appears to decrease among stimulant-treated ADHD patients compared to their non-treated cohorts.
B) Children treated with stimulant medication showed greater improvements in academic performance and social skills compared to children in the non-medicated comparison groups.
C) Intensive behavioral treatment was far superior to induced stimulant medication.
D) Both a and b are correct

Question 16

Amphetamines increase the availability of DA by

A) increasing the release of NE and DA from synaptic vesicles.
B) blocking the reuptake transporter of NE.
C) causing the transporters for DA to act in reverse.
D) All of the above are correct

Question 17

Amphetamines cause a(n) ________ in cortical arousal by increasing ________.

A) increase; cortical dopamine activity
B) increase; NE activity in the reticular activating system
C) decrease; dopamine activity
D) Both a and b are correct

Question 18

NE pathways originate in the ________ and project along the ________.

A) locus coeruleus; reticular activating system
B) raphe nucleus; reticular activating system
C) locus coeruleus; cortical pathway
D) reticular activating system; thalamus

Question 19

Which of the following is a legitimate concern about using amphetamines to treat ADHD?

A) Their addictive potential
B) Patients selling them to others
C) Tachycardia
D) Weight gain

Question 20

An amphetamine overdose

A) rarely occurs.
B) can cause chronic insomnia.
C) can induce amphetamine psychosis.
D) can cause Parkinson's disease.

Question 21

________ is the most widely prescribed drug for ADHD.

A) Modafinil
B) Methylphenidate
C) Pemoline
D) Atomoxetine

Question 22

Which of the following statements best describes the drugs Ritalin and Strattera?

A) They do not have similar mechanisms of action as amphetamines do.
B) They block the reuptake of norepinephrine like amphetamines do.
C) They only increase dopamine activity.
D) They do not increase cortical arousal significantly.

Question 23

Modafinil increases ________ in the hypothalamus.

A) NE activity
B) histamine release
C) DA activity
D) orexin release

Question 24

Modafinil increases alertness in ADHD patients by

A) increasing norepinephrine activity in the reticular activating system.
B) inhibiting the thalamic reticular nucleus.
C) increasing dopamine activity in the caudate nucleus.
D) increasing histamine release in the tuberomammilary nucleus.

Question 25

The trade name for methylphenidate is

A) Strattera
B) Modafinil
C) Ritalin
D) Dexadrine

Question 26

Rett's syndrome

A) is the most common of all of the pervasive developmental disorders.
B) is a less severe and more functional form of autism.
C) occurs more frequently in males than females.
D) occurs only in females.

Question 27

Asperger's disorder is also known as

A) early infantile autism.
B) autistic psychopath.
C) infantile schizophrenia.
D) Rett's syndrome.

Question 28

Which of the following symptoms is NOT consistent with a diagnosis of autism?

A) Marked impairments in eye-to-eye contact, facial expression, and social behaviors
B) Lack of, or a marked delay in, the development of spoken language
C) Inflexibility in routines
D) Motor tics in the face

Question 29

A child inflicted with Asperger's disorder has essentially the same symptoms as an autistic child EXCEPT

A) restricted repetitive patterns of behavior.
B) impairments in speech development.
C) impairment in social interaction.
D) Both b and c are correct

Question 30

Which of the following appears to be a major cause of autism?

A) A decreased brain volume
B) Underconnectivity of major intra- and interhemispheric regions of the brain
C) An increase in the thickness of myelin in the corpus callosum
D) None of the above is correct

Question 31

Compared to normal control subjects, autistics demonstrate ________ activity in the ________ gyrus during sentence comprehension tasks.

A) depressed; superior temporal
B) increased; superior temporal
C) less; inferior frontal
D) Both b and c are correct

Question 32

The ________ genu and ________ splenium are significantly smaller in people with autism.

A) anterior; anterior
B) posterior; posterior
C) anterior; posterior
D) posterior; anterior

Question 33

The corpus callosum is

A) a band of connecting neurons whose axons terminate in the cingulate gyrus.
B) made up of cortical circuits that integrate intrahemispheric connections.
C) a band of interconnecting myelinated axons that unite cortical areas as well as intrahemispheric regions.
D) essential for normal intelligence.

Question 34

There is a strong correlation between the size of the ________ and ________.

A) genu; functional interconnectivity in the brain
B) splenium; the severity of ADHD
C) genu; the number of axons it contains
D) splenium; how well autistics respond to drug treatment

Question 35

Autistic spectrum disorders commonly co-occur with symptoms of all of the following EXCEPT

A) hallucinations.
B) seizures.
C) anxiety.
D) hyperactivity.