Deck 14: Neurocognitive Disorders

Question 1

Which of the following is a good example of a person with an impairment of orientation?

A) Joe, who once thought he was a homosexual but now thinks he is heterosexual.
B) Karla, who cannot accurately draw objects or copy designs on a piece of paper.
C) Lois, who must constantly be reminded of what to do next when she is getting dressed.
D) Marlon, who is not sure where he is or what month or year it is.

Answer 1

Marlon, who is not sure where he is or what month or year it is.

Question 2

Jerry had a stroke several months ago. Among the changes his family has noticed is that he now blows up over little things, cries over minor problems, and laughs at anything, no matter how silly. Jerry is showing

A) focal brain damage.
B) impairment of receptive and expressive communication.
C) impairment of emotional modulation.
D) affective blunting.

Answer 2

impairment of emotional modulation.

Question 3

All of the following are reasons why cognitive disorders are addressed in an abnormal text EXCEPT

A) these disorders are considered to be psychopathological conditions.
B) some brain disorders cause symptoms that look like mood and anxiety disorders.
C) psychological conditions can signal the onset of brain damage.
D) brain damage can lead to psychological symptoms.

Answer 3

psychological conditions can signal the onset of brain damage.

Question 4

Major brain damage

A) causes major changes.
B) causes minor changes.
C) causes changes to personality only.
D) sometimes causes minor changes and sometimes major ones.

Question 5

Mild to moderate diffuse brain damage is most likely to result in

A) mood disturbance.
B) attention deficits.
C) visual distortions.
D) altered sleep patterns.

Question 6

The extent of the deficits seen after brain damage are determined in part by

A) genetic factors.
B) how one is functioning before the damage occurs.
C) chemical imbalances in the brain.
D) the drugs a person was on.

Question 7

When Mrs. Thomason experienced a stroke, a small area of her brain was deprived of oxygenated blood. This resulted in a

A) diffuse brain injury.
B) focal brain lesion.
C) psychopathological dementia.
D) diffuse lesion.

Question 8

Which of the following psychopathological symptoms is commonly seen in neuropsychological disorders?

A) Cognitive deficits
B) Delusions
C) Dissociative episodes
D) Panic attacks

Question 9

A person who has experienced destruction of brain tissue may have widespread or limited behavioral deficits. The outcome depends upon which of the following?

A) Gender
B) Ethnicity
C) Predisorder intellectual competence
D) Income

Question 10

In the DSM-5, the disorders now known as "Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders" will be part of a newly proposed category called ________________.

A) Delirium and Dementia Disorders
B) Cognitive Disorders
C) Neurological Disorders
D) Neurocognitive Disorders

Question 11

Someone with focal brain damage in his or her left hemisphere

A) will have anterograde amnesia.
B) will have problems with processing language.
C) will have problems with nonverbal reasoning.
D) will have problems with understanding new situations.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about the brain is true?

A) The skull is designed to support as much as 3 tons of weight.
B) The brain is protected only by the skull.
C) The human brain typically weights about 5 pounds.
D) Brain damage rarely results in cognitive changes.

Question 13

An individual with neuropsychological damage

A) will almost always evidence moderate to severe psychopathology, including hallucinations and delusions.
B) may or may not have psychopathological symptoms.
C) usually manifests symptoms of psychopathology that are the opposite of the person's predisorder personality.
D) will develop psychopathological symptoms only when areas of the frontal cortex have been damaged.

Question 14

Damage to the temporal lobes of the brain is most likely to result in

A) passivity.
B) impulsivity.
C) blindness.
D) forgetfulness.

Question 15

It is important that mental health professionals have an understanding of the effects of brain damage because

A) most of their patients will have brain damage.
B) brain damage can result in symptoms that look like psychological conditions.
C) many of the medications used to treat psychopathology cause brain damage.
D) the effects of most forms of brain damage are reversible.

Question 16

Ruth experienced a stroke that severely damaged her occipital lobe. We can expect that she has an impairment in her ability to

A) think and talk using good judgment.
B) walk in a coordinated fashion.
C) understand what she sees.
D) do mathematical and word problems.

Question 17

Focal brain damage is most likely to be a consequence of

A) stroke.
B) oxygen deprivation.
C) poison ingestion.
D) malnutrition.

Question 18

Which of the following is tested in a Mini-Mental State Examination?

A) Sexual orientation.
B) Mood.
C) IQ.
D) Attention.

Question 19

Damage to the ________ lobes of the brain is most associated with memory loss; damage to the ________ lobes of the brain is most associated with passivity or impulsiveness.

A) temporal; frontal
B) parietal; occipital
C) frontal; temporal
D) parietal; temporal

Question 20

Anosognosia is an inability to

A) understand language.
B) see, although physically the eyes are fine.
C) move parts of the body.
D) make realistic self-appraisals.

Question 21

Delirium

A) develops slowly.
B) affects perception.
C) can occur in a person of any age.
D) reflects severe brain damage.

Question 22

Delirium is thought to be more common in the elderly due to

A) their weakened immune systems.
B) their relative lack of physical and mental activity.
C) chemical imbalances.
D) normal age-related changes in the brain.

Question 23

Which of the following is most likely to be characteristic of a physically aggressive Alzheimer's disease patient?

A) History of violent behavior
B) Multiple psychotic breaks
C) Delusions of reference
D) Delusions of persecution

Question 24

The most common cause of dementia is

A) intracranial tumors.
B) severe or repeated head injury.
C) degenerative brain disease.
D) drug toxicity.

Question 25

Which of the following statements about Alzheimer's disease is true?

A) The specific symptoms vary considerably from patient to patient and from day to day for the same patient.
B) Changes in mood are rarely seen.
C) Deterioration into a vegetative state occurs in two years or less.
D) The first symptoms involve delusions and assaultive behavior.

Question 26

Delirium

A) is usually permanent.
B) is usually reversible.
C) rarely is a medical emergency.
D) is characterized by a decline from a previously attained level of functioning.

Question 27

The most common cause of delirium is

A) disease.
B) drugs.
C) electrolytic imbalance.
D) stroke.

Question 28

The text presented a case study of a retired man who was hospitalized by his wife and son. He was typical of many patients with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DAT) in that

A) he had become violent toward family members.
B) he never lost his orientation for time and person.
C) he had good memory for remote events but no memory for events that just occurred.
D) he became hypochondriacal and performed repetitive, meaningless rituals.

Question 29

It is suspected that June is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Which of the following symptoms would suggest this?

A) Persistent delusions
B) Loss of contact with reality
C) Social withdrawal
D) Excessive neatness and an intrusive interest in others' affairs

Question 30

Which of the following is the most typical example of the onset of Alzheimer's disease?

A) After Bill's death, Carol was never the same again.
B) When Yula's dementia became obvious, her family looked back on her behavior and realized that she had been exhibiting memory deficits.
C) Rachel have always suffered from mood disorders. When she descended into a state of dementia after her last manic episode, no one was surprised.
D) Christa began showing signs of forgetfulness after her last surgery.

Question 31

What types of delusions are most commonly seen in Alzheimer's disease?

A) Delusions of grandeur
B) Delusions of persecution
C) Delusions of reference
D) Delusions of bodily changes

Question 32

The particular disease that most commonly causes dementia is

A) AIDS
B) Alzheimer's disease.
C) Huntington's disease.
D) Parkinson's disease.

Question 33

In order for a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease to be definitively made

A) brain tissue must be examined.
B) symptoms must be present for over two years.
C) the afflicted individual must exhibit delirium at least 50 percent of the time.
D) plaques and tangles must be visible on an MRI.

Question 34

Which of the following disorders is characterized by motor symptoms such as resting tremors or rigid movements?

A) AIDS
B) Alzheimer's disease
C) Huntington's disease
D) Parkinson's disease

Question 35

The first sign of dementia is typically

A) lack of alertness.
B) lack of attention to the environment.
C) motor control problems.
D) memory problems.

Question 36

Suddenly, Lavinia is unable to remember what she was doing. She screams that bugs are crawling all over the walls. She begins to wildly swing her arms around. She can't fall asleep at night, but finally falls asleep at daylight. Lavinia most likely has

A) dementia.
B) focal brain damage.
C) schizophrenia.
D) delirium.

Question 37

You are convinced that your grandmother has Alzheimer's. How can you doctor confirm your diagnosis?

A) By conducting a blood test
B) By determining if she has enlarged ventricles that indicate brain atrophy
C) By looking to see if she has a decrease in frontal lobe function
D) By ruling out all other potential causes of dementia

Question 38

Delirium has a ________ onset and dementia has a ________ onset.

A) rapid; gradual
B) extensive brain damage; localized brain damage
C) slow recovery; rapid recovery
D) interference with complex processing; interference with simple processing

Question 39

Delirium is to dementia as ________ is to ________.

A) acute; chronic
B) diffuse; focal
C) biological; psychological
D) old; young

Question 40

Which of the following disorders affects men and women in equal numbers and is characterized by a chronic, progressive chorea?

A) AIDS
B) Alzheimer's disease
C) Huntington's disease
D) Parkinson's disease

Question 41

Most cases of early-onset Alzheimer's disease appear to be caused by

A) environmental exposure to toxins.
B) one of several rare genetic mutations.
C) HIV or some other autoimmune disease.
D) a combination of psychoactive drug abuse and poor nutrition.

Question 42

What is the relationship between the HIV-1 virus and brain damage?

A) The virus itself never causes brain damage, only peripheral damage to the skin.
B) The virus may work indirectly: It allows infections to occur that cause brain damage.
C) The virus does not lead to brain damage, but the disease so affects patients that their psychotic reactions mimic those of brain damage.
D) The virus is more likely to multiple in a brain that has already been damaged by brain trauma or some other cause of tissue loss.

Question 43

The first neurons to be affected in Alzheimer's disease are cells that release

A) serotonin.
B) dopamine.
C) beta amyloid.
D) acetylcholine.

Question 44

Which of the following is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease?

A) Being a woman
B) Having a family history of Parkinson's disease
C) Living in a non-Western developed nation
D) Being highly educated

Question 45

The protein called tau

A) is a sticky substance at the core of a plaque.
B) is a neurotoxic substance that occurs in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
C) is caused by amyloid in the brain and is a sign that Alzheimer's disease is progressing.
D) is a neurotransmitter important in the mediation of memory.

Question 46

The neuropathology in AIDS-related dementia

A) involves the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain.
B) tends to result in focal damage in the brain.
C) includes generalized atrophy in the brain.
D) preferentially affects the frontal and temporal lobes in the brain.

Question 47

It has been observed that if a women gives birth to a child with Down syndrome before the age of 35, she has an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Which of the following best explains this observation?

A) The same gene underlies both Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.
B) Women under 35 are not emotionally mature enough to manage a child with mental retardation.
C) Multiple copies of the APOE-4 allele increase the likelihood of both conditions.
D) A genetic mutation that increases susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease also increases the likelihood of passing on chromosomal abnormalities.

Question 48

Caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease

A) experience "social death."
B) are at extraordinarily high risk for depression.
C) show high levels of ApoE, even if they do not show any outward anxiety symptoms.
D) are likely to show signs of cognitive deterioration.

Question 49

Dementia in HIV

A) is always due to secondary infections that attack the brain.
B) is a common side effect of antiviral therapy.
C) results from acute damage to temporal lobe structures.
D) may be due to the HIV virus directly attacking brain cells.

Question 50

Early-onset Alzheimer's disease differs from late-onset in that

A) the progression of the disease is more rapid.
B) symptoms invariably involve delusions and assaultive behavior.
C) genetics play little or no causal role.
D) environmental factors have no impact on the onset or the progression of the disorder.

Question 51

The brain begins to decrease in size at age

A) 18.
B) 35.
C) 55.
D) 65.

Question 52

Which of the following is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease?

A) Having a family history of vascular dementia
B) Giving birth to a child with Down syndrome before age 35
C) Living in a non-Western developed nation
D) Excessive use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Question 53

A hypothetical drug that might improve the cognitive functioning of Alzheimer's patients would probably

A) decrease levels of acetylcholine.
B) increase levels of acetylcholine.
C) increase levels of beta amyloid.
D) decrease the activity of all genes that produce ApoE.

Question 54

The most promising development in the treatment of Alzheimer's involves

A) finding drugs that counteract the processes associated with inheriting high-risk ApoE allele patterns.
B) preventing the degeneration of dopamine-producing cells.
C) increasing the intake of vitamins and minerals known to enhance memory function.
D) vaccines that might clear away any accumulated plaques.

Question 55

Early-onset Alzheimer's disease affects people in their

A) teens.
B) 20s.
C) 30s.
D) 40s.

Question 56

Research suggests that the use of ________ may decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

A) aspirin
B) codeine
C) ibuprofen
D) valium

Question 57

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease has been linked to a gene on chromosome

A) 7.
B) 14.
C) 19.
D) 21.

Question 58

What type of drugs are most likely to be used to inhibit the progression of Alzheimer's disease?

A) Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories
B) Antidepressants
C) Antipsychotics
D) Cholinesterase inhibitors

Question 59

Consistent with its established role in memory, neurons in the ________ suffer much damage in Alzheimer's disease.

A) hippocampus
B) hypothalamus
C) thalamus
D) amygdala

Question 60

The best avenue of research for effective treatment of Alzheimer's disease involves

A) medications to remove plaques, because they cause the symptoms in Alzheimer's disease.
B) prevention or treatment at the first sign of illness because lost neurons cannot be regained.
C) regenerating neurons in the brain to replace those lost or damaged by the disorder.
D) behavioral therapy to help improve memory and living skills.

Question 61

The only neuropsychological syndrome for which antiviral therapy is likely to be helpful is

A) AIDS-related dementia.
B) multi-infarct dementia.
C) vascular dementia.
D) amnestic disorder.

Question 62

After the car accident, Sherry was unable to remember what happened from the time of the crash until the following morning. Sherry appears to have experienced

A) amnestic disorder.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) retrograde amnesia.
D) dissociative fugue.

Question 63

The effects of head trauma on memory suggest that

A) short-term memory is not affected by physical trauma.
B) the process of memory consolidation can be interrupted.
C) semantic memory is usually affected when an injury is severe enough to produce a loss of consciousness.
D) rarely are episodic memories affected by head trauma.

Question 64

The case of Phineas Gage demonstrates

A) the role of the brain in determining personality.
B) that even the most serious brain injuries need not lead to permanent alteration in behavior.
C) the role of the temporal lobe in controlling behavioral impulses.
D) the importance of a healthy cerebrovascular system.

Question 65

Procedural memory often is intact in patients with amnestic disorder. This means

A) they will eventually recover their short-term memory.
B) they will eventually recover their memory for the most important personal events in their lives, but will still have problems with short-term memory.
C) they can still learn routines and skills and may be able to be taught tasks that will enable them to work.
D) the memory pathways in the brain are still intact, so patients can be retaught how to remember things.

Question 66

What is affected in amnestic disorder?

A) The ability to recall something that happened seconds ago
B) The ability to recall something that happened minutes ago
C) The ability to recall something that happened hours ago
D) The ability to recall something that happened years ago

Question 67

When a closed-head injury occurs,

A) the damage is localized.
B) the damage is a result of the brain colliding with the skull.
C) post-trauma epilepsy is common.
D) the skull is bruised.

Question 68

A bullet is most likely to cause

A) a closed-head injury.
B) a penetrating head injury.
C) amnestic disorder.
D) multi-infarct dementia.

Question 69

Vascular dementia

A) is a result of many small strokes.
B) is what was once called amnestic infarct dementia.
C) responds to the same treatments as Alzheimer's disease.
D) affects more women than men.

Question 70

Which of the following is not a cause of traumatic brain injury?

A) Car accidents
B) Assaults
C) Sports
D) Vitamin deficiency

Question 71

An individuals with amnestic disorder is likely to be unable to ____________.

A) tell you whom he or she met 5 minutes ago.
B) describe the house he or she grew up in
C) repeat an address he or she was just told
D) demonstrate how to ride a bike

Question 72

The most common cause of traumatic brain injury is

A) stroke.
B) motor vehicle accidents.
C) drug abuse.
D) Alzheimer's disease.

Question 73

The occurrence of which of the following after a head injury suggests a poor prognosis?

A) Concussion
B) Retrograde amnesia
C) Contusion
D) Anterograde amnesia

Question 74

Emotional dyscontrol and personality alterations are expected with

A) amnestic syndrome.
B) vascular dementia.
C) frontal lobe damage.
D) prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Question 75

Mild brain injuries

A) usually produce no problems.
B) usually produce short-lived, major problems.
C) usually produce long-term, minor problems, particularly in older people.
D) usually produce long-term, major problems, particularly in older people.

Question 76

The damage that might be caused to the brain by riding a violently fast roller coaster is similar to that seen with

A) a closed-head injury.
B) a penetrating head injury.
C) vascular dementia.
D) a series of circumscribed cerebral infarcts.

Question 77

Which of the following best explains why mood disorders are more characteristic of vascular dementia (VAD) than of Alzheimer's disease?

A) VAD preferentially affects serotonergic cells.
B) Medical treatments are less effective in the treatment of VAD.
C) VAD is more prevalent in women.
D) Subcortical areas are more affected in VAD.

Question 78

Vascular dementia is less common than Alzheimer's disease because

A) it develops later in life.
B) the patient is vulnerable to sudden death from stroke or cardiovascular disease.
C) it can be cured.
D) spontaneous remission is common.

Question 79

After being hit on the head, Bob experienced some retrograde amnesia. Those who were there knew this because he

A) was unconscious.
B) had a concussion.
C) could not remember his name.
D) did not know what happened.

Question 80

How does vascular dementia differs from Alzheimer's disease?

A) It is not progressive.
B) It occurs at an earlier age.
C) The early clinical picture is more homogeneous than that seen in Alzheimer's disease.
D) Accompanying mood disorders are more common.