NURS 6630 Psychopharmacology Actual Complete Final Exam 2026 100% Pass

NURS 6630 Psychopharmacology Actual Complete Final Exam 2026 100% Pass Nonessential physiological processes shut down (i.e. Digestion & reproduction), energy is channeled into a host of functions preparing for rapid action. - -When a person or animal confronts actual (or perceived) danger situations, what neurochemical and hormonal reactions start to occur? Cortex, amygdala - -Stressful events are perceived at the __________, processed at the _______, which then activates lower brain areas & puts the limbic system on alert Norepinephrine - -when there is imminent danger, a burst of excitation originates from the locus coeruleus which releases _____________, which results in instantaneous hypervigilance. Limbic system and hypothalamus by activating the SNS, HTA, or HPA - -what is responsible for the release of stress hormones? Chloride - -_________ ions act as a brake and dampen the limbic alert Benzodiazepines - -________ enhance the flow of negative (chloride) ions which results in widespread calming in may areas of the brain Serotonin - -excitability in the locus coerulues is also mediated by _______ Inhibitory - -in the Locus Coeruleus, serotonin is ____________. Activation - -A decrease in serotonin may impact the locus coeruleus by making it more disinhibited and more sensitive to ___________. Amygdala - -Acquired fears appear to be mediated primarily by the ___________. Encodes - -After very frightening events, the amygdala ________ certain stimulus events of the experience. These memories are highly resistant to extinction. Serotonin - -There is speculation that _______ many play a role in inhibiting cellular reactivity in the amygdala Benzodiazepines, atypical antianxiety (buspirone), snris and ssris, andn gabapentin - What are four medication options for treating GAD? Dependence/substance abuse - -Benzodiazepines can be used to treat severe cases of GAD, but should not be used if the patient is at risk for ___________ NURS 6630 NURS 6630 Buspirone - -_______ reduces worry and rumination seen in GAD, but it is not addictive Gabapentin - -This antiseizure medication is primarily used to treat anxiety in bipolar disorder Psychotropic medications - -Specific phobias are generally not treated with __________________. Beta-blockers - -what is effective at reducing anxiety surrounding public speaking? Ssris, snris, or maois - -Pervasive forms social anxiety (and avoidant personality disorder) may be treated with what three medications? Panic disorder - -____________ is the anxiety disorder for which medication treatment plays its most important role Benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and MAO inhibitors - -What three medication classes generally treat panic? 70% - -______ of patients have return of panic symptoms if medication is stopped GAD, specific phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia without panic - -What four anxiety disorders are generally NOT treated with medication unless they are severe or fail to respond to psychotherapy. Anxiety associated with acute stress, neurotic anxiety - -Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice for what two anxiety disorders? Basal ganglia - -diseases such as encephalitis that selectively damage areas of the __________ have been shown to result in OCD symptoms. Ssris - -A large number of clinical studies suggest that OCD can be treated with ________. Serotonin - -Antidepressants that do not affect _________ are not effective in treating OCD SSRI - -There appears to be an increase in metabolic activity in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia for people with OCD. However, this abnormal metabolic activity is normalized with patients are treated with an ______. Frontal cortex - -One theory is that the ___________ works to inhibit the emergence of primitive instinctual urges, but this does not work in OCD. NURS 6630 NURS 6630 Inhibited - -Another theory of OCD is that the feedback loop seen in response to stress/danger is never ___________ for people with OCD, thus behavioral attempts (compulsions) to reduce anxiety are activated. Serotonergic - -ssris help inhibit the negative feedback loop in OCD by activating inhibitory __________ cells which shut down the loop & relieve symptoms. Higher - -Treatment with medication for OCD requires ________ doses than those used to treat clinical depression. High - -Psychotropic medications are believed to be about 50-60% effective in treating OCD, however, if a patient stops the medication the relapse rate is very ________. GABA - -Benzodiazepine receptors are co-located with _______ receptors which usually function as presynaptic inhibiting receptors. Chloride ions - -Benzodiazepines enhance the effect of GABA and increase the influx of ____________. Antihistamines - -these drugs work by blocking histamine receptors in the CNS Beta-blockers - -These medications act by blocking the effects of norepinephrine at the receptor. They are good at reducing physical symptoms of anxiety, but not cognitive symptoms. Clonidine - -This medication functions as a presynaptic inhibitor of norepinephrine release. Stressful event, outcry, intrusion or denial, working through, completion - -What are the stages of the stress response syndrome? Outcry - -this stage of the stress response syndrome is characterized by an eruption Of intense, unpleasant emotion and denial Intrusion - -this stage of the stress response syndrome occurs when a person experiences waves of intense emotion and a strong Impulse to think about, imagine, remember, or mentally relive the stressful event. Denial - -in the stress response syndrome, __________ may occur directly following outcry Or may come on the heels of a period of intrusion. Denial - -in the stress response syndrome, this stage is characterized by a state Of emotional numbness; people often feel nothing. NURS 6630 NURS 6630 Neurobiology - -PTSD due to early, severe child abuse or neglect may leave not only emotional Scars, but also ____________ may be altered. Attachment and protection - -Severe stress during childhood and Infancy in both humans and animals can result in an increased need for __________________________. Separation-stress center - -The repetitive involvement in apparently aversive or abusive relationships may be related to hypersensitivity of The __________________ in the brain, which has Been shown to respond favorably to treatment with antidepressants, especially MAO Inhibitors And ssris. CRF, hippocampus - -Following early trauma, permanent alterations in the nervous system have also Been documented, including persistent elevations in the neuropeptide ______ and Atrophy of the ________________. Emotion regulation - -When a traumatic experience occurs early in life a consequence, May be inadequate attachment and bonding. Insecure attachment may lead to difficulties with _____________, which may explain some of the behaviors seen in PTSD. Hyperarousal - -Research has shown that mammals who are exposed to inescapable shock eventually show a depletion in norepinephrine which leads to changes in receptor sensitivity and may lead to chronic __________________. Hyperarousal - -this symptom of PTSD may be due to more or less permanent dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal Axis damage to the hippocampus and anterior cingulated gyrus LC—hippocampus/ Amygdala pathways - -intrusions in PTSD appear to be linked neurobiologically to a stress inducted reaction of the _____________________. Glutamate, cortisol - -In the immediate aftermath of severe trauma, marked increases in the neurotransmitter, ___________ and the stress hormone,__________ , may reach toxic levels and Damage parts of the brain associated with affect regulation. Alpha-2 agonists - -Experimental treatments with acute administration of __________________ Which dampen activation of noradrenergic cells in the locus coeruleus, NURS 6630 NURS 6630 Are producing promising results reducing the brain damage caused by excessive glutamate and cortisol seen post-trauma Progressively increase - -A kindling effect has also been hypothesized in PTSD, which suggests that severe trauma may _____________________ the Likelihood That subsequent stresses are responded to with even more intense affective Symptoms Psychotherapy - -The treatment of choice for PTSD is ______________________. Antidepressants, benzodiazepines, Α-2 adrenergic agonists, Anticonvulsants - -What medications can be used to treat hyperarousal seen in PTSD? Low-dose antipsychotics - -what medications can be used to treat psychosis/derealization in PTSD? Prazosin - -what medication can be used to treat nightmares in PTSD? Second-generation antipsychotics, Anticonvulsants - -what medications can be used to treat treatment-resistant PTSD? Response to stressful stimuli - -Animal models strongly support the notion that severely traumatic experiences Alter brain functioning and may permanently change an organism's Biologic capacity for _______________________. Control - -Central to appropriate pharmacological treatment of PTSD is the restoration of Some sense of __________ over turbulent emotions. Enlarged lateral ventricles and cortical sulci - -What did CT and MRI scans find in people with schizophrenia that suggests that either there is brain Atrophy or that in some types of schizophrenia there has been Abnormal brain development Anterior hippocampi - -MRI scans have shown the presence of smaller ___________________ Schizophrenic subjects, which correlates with cognitive Impairment SSRI antidepressants, second generation antipsychotics - -what medications can be used for Intrusive experiences: "flashbacks," Avoidance, and numbing seen in PTSD? NURS 6630 NURS 6630 Prefrontal Cortex - -{ET scan studies of people with schizophrenia have shown decreased metabolic activity in the _______________, which correlates with the severity of negative symptoms. HVA - -in people with schizophrenia, studies have found a positive correlation between levels of ________ in plasma and clinical severity. The dopamine model - -this theory hypothesized that schizophrenia is caused by abnormal Dopaminergic activity in the brain Emotional control, screening of stimuli - -In areas of the limbic and reticular systems, dopamine neurons appear to Play an important role in ____________ and the ______________. Overactive - -The dopamine model of schizophrenia holds that the basic physiological pathology involves primarily __________ Dopamine neurons. Dopamine - -excessive ___________ activity Can lead to behavioral agitation, a failure to adequately screen stimuli, and disorganization Of perception and thought Block - -the potency of antipsychotic drugs has correlated closely with their Ability to bind to and _________ the postsynaptic dopamine (D2) receptors in the mesolimbic System Dopamine activity - -drugs that increase _______________________ can produce a paranoid psychosis similar to paranoid schizophrenia and, If given to schizophrenic patients, amphetamines may exacerbate psychotic symptoms. Positive, negative - -In schizophrenia there appears to be an increase in dopamine activity in the mesolimbic tracts which leads to __________ symptoms, but a decreased dopamine activity in the prefrontal cortex which leads to __________ sympt