Fitzgerald PMHNP Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse
Practitioner Final Exam 2025 Prep Questions and
Answers
Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) - ANS-The risk in a control group minus the risk in a
treatment group
The concomitant use of MAOIs and St. John's wort can lead to - ANS-serotonin
syndrome
Relative Risk Reduction (RRR) - ANS-The percentage of risk removed by the treatment
True randomization sample - ANS-no bias in sample selection
Stratified sample - ANS-a selective reproduction of the population
non-probability sampling - ANS-a sampling technique in which there is no way to
calculate the likelihood that a specific element of the population being studied will be
chosen
Reliability - ANS-the concept that results can be repeated and are not just a fluke
Validity - ANS-The results indicate what the researcher thinks they indicate
Internal validity - ANS-includes research design and steps of the scientific method
External validity - ANS-includes assessment of the interference's or causal relationship
Retrospective study - ANS-existing data are analyzed, either qualitatively or
quantitatively
Veracity - ANS-The healthcare provider must be truthful and avoid deception
LACE Essentials - ANS-Licensure
Accreditation
Certification
Education
Licensure - ANS-granting of authority to practice
Primary prevention - ANS--preventing the health problem
-most cost-effective form of healthcare
-immunizations
,Secondary prevention - ANS--detecting the disease
-screening
Tertiary prevention - ANS--minimizing negative disease induced outcomes
-disease already present
-adjust therapy to avoid further damage
Conditions that originate during brain development - ANS--schizophrenia, depression,
autism, ADHD
The Reptilian Brain - ANS-Brainstem and Cerebellum
Brainstem Structure - ANS-Pons, medulla oblongata, midbrain
Brainstem Function - ANS--Regulates blood pressure, respiration, level of arousal, and
digestion
-Information relay to cerebellum
Brainstem effects of damage - ANS-impaired inhibition, anxiety, depression, and
personality changes
Brainstem specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-PTSD, paralysis, psychosis, coma, and
death
Cerebellum function - ANS-coordinates balance, posture, movement, memory, impulse
control, cognition, language
Cerebellum effects of damage - ANS-damage can cause ataxia, tremors, emotional
blunting, and lack of inhibition
cerebellum specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-autism and ADHD, depression, bipolar
do, schizophrenia
The emotional brain - ANS-The Limbic System
The Limbic system major structures - ANS-Amygdala, Hippocampus
Amygdala key functions - ANS-Regulates basic, powerful emotions: fear, rage, sexual
desire
Amygdala effects of damage - ANS-Irritability, anger, aggression
Amygdala specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-PTSD, panic do, depression, autism,
and schizophrenia
,Hippocampus key functions - ANS-Involved in memory and converting short-term
memory into long-term memory, learning
Hippocampus effects of damage - ANS-Impaired memory and attention
Hippocampus specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-PTSD, Alzheimer's, dementia, and
major depression
Thalamus key functions - ANS--relay station that connects the cortex to the limbic
system for sensory information
-Influences affect, mood, and body movements associated with strong emotion
Thalamus effects of damage - ANS-impairment when people are overwhelmed with
information
Thalamus specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-Schizophrenia, PTSD, memory
problems
Hypothalamus key functions - ANS-maintains homeostasis, controls basic needs
(eating, drinking, temperature regulation, sleep-wake cycle)
Hypothalamus specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-Depression, anorexia, violence
Hypothalamus effects of damage - ANS-disturbed sleep, eating, changes in body
temperature, emotional instability
Cerebral Cortex - ANS-frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe
The thinking brain - ANS-Cerebral cortex
Frontal lobe major structures - ANS-motor strip, supplemental motor area, broca's area,
prefrontal cortex
frontal lobe key functions - ANS--executive functioning and personality
-higher-order planning, speech, motivation
-involved in emotional experience and expression of mood
prefrontal cortex regions - ANS--orbitofrontal, dorsolateral, medial
part of the brain's reward system - ANS-medial prefrontal cortex
works with amygdala to control emotional regulation and processing - ANS-dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
orbital frontal region effects of damage - ANS-results in lack of inhibition, promiscuity,
poor judgement, defects in executive functioning
, frontal lobe Broca's area - ANS-results in expressive aphasia
frontal lobe specific psychiatric conditions - ANS--frontal lobe syndrome, schizophrenia,
executive dysfunction syndrome, depression, bipolar, ADHD, and anxiety
Parietal lobe key functions - ANS--receives and evaluates sensory information
-Involved w/processing tactile and preprioceptive information, comprehension of
language
parietal lobe effects of damage - ANS-trouble recognizing familiar people, objects, or
surroundings
parietal lobe psychiatric conditions - ANS-aphasia, agnosia, and apraxia
occipital lobe key functions - ANS-vision and visual memory, language formation
occipital lobe effects of damage - ANS-vision loss, visual hallucination
occipital lobe psychiatric conditions - ANS-blindness, color blindness
temporal lobe key functions - ANS--receives and processes auditory information
-provides emotional context to memories
temporal lobe psychiatric conditions - ANS-auditory hallucinations in depression, mania,
and schizophrenia
temporal lobe effects of damage - ANS-fear, anxiety, rage, paranoia
dopamine pathways - ANS-Nigrostriatal tract
Mesolimbic tract
Mesocortical tract
Tuberoinfundibular tract
dopamine dietary precursor - ANS-Tyrosine
mesolimbic dopamine pathway - ANS--reward pathway
-associated w/mood disorders, psychoses, drug abuse, and positive symptoms of
schizophrenia
Nigrostriatal dopamine pathway - ANS-voluntary and involuntary movements
mesocortical dopamine pathway - ANS-cognition, planning and behavior
Tuberoinfundibular dopamine pathway - ANS-Extends to the pituitary where prolactin is
regulated
Practitioner Final Exam 2025 Prep Questions and
Answers
Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) - ANS-The risk in a control group minus the risk in a
treatment group
The concomitant use of MAOIs and St. John's wort can lead to - ANS-serotonin
syndrome
Relative Risk Reduction (RRR) - ANS-The percentage of risk removed by the treatment
True randomization sample - ANS-no bias in sample selection
Stratified sample - ANS-a selective reproduction of the population
non-probability sampling - ANS-a sampling technique in which there is no way to
calculate the likelihood that a specific element of the population being studied will be
chosen
Reliability - ANS-the concept that results can be repeated and are not just a fluke
Validity - ANS-The results indicate what the researcher thinks they indicate
Internal validity - ANS-includes research design and steps of the scientific method
External validity - ANS-includes assessment of the interference's or causal relationship
Retrospective study - ANS-existing data are analyzed, either qualitatively or
quantitatively
Veracity - ANS-The healthcare provider must be truthful and avoid deception
LACE Essentials - ANS-Licensure
Accreditation
Certification
Education
Licensure - ANS-granting of authority to practice
Primary prevention - ANS--preventing the health problem
-most cost-effective form of healthcare
-immunizations
,Secondary prevention - ANS--detecting the disease
-screening
Tertiary prevention - ANS--minimizing negative disease induced outcomes
-disease already present
-adjust therapy to avoid further damage
Conditions that originate during brain development - ANS--schizophrenia, depression,
autism, ADHD
The Reptilian Brain - ANS-Brainstem and Cerebellum
Brainstem Structure - ANS-Pons, medulla oblongata, midbrain
Brainstem Function - ANS--Regulates blood pressure, respiration, level of arousal, and
digestion
-Information relay to cerebellum
Brainstem effects of damage - ANS-impaired inhibition, anxiety, depression, and
personality changes
Brainstem specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-PTSD, paralysis, psychosis, coma, and
death
Cerebellum function - ANS-coordinates balance, posture, movement, memory, impulse
control, cognition, language
Cerebellum effects of damage - ANS-damage can cause ataxia, tremors, emotional
blunting, and lack of inhibition
cerebellum specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-autism and ADHD, depression, bipolar
do, schizophrenia
The emotional brain - ANS-The Limbic System
The Limbic system major structures - ANS-Amygdala, Hippocampus
Amygdala key functions - ANS-Regulates basic, powerful emotions: fear, rage, sexual
desire
Amygdala effects of damage - ANS-Irritability, anger, aggression
Amygdala specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-PTSD, panic do, depression, autism,
and schizophrenia
,Hippocampus key functions - ANS-Involved in memory and converting short-term
memory into long-term memory, learning
Hippocampus effects of damage - ANS-Impaired memory and attention
Hippocampus specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-PTSD, Alzheimer's, dementia, and
major depression
Thalamus key functions - ANS--relay station that connects the cortex to the limbic
system for sensory information
-Influences affect, mood, and body movements associated with strong emotion
Thalamus effects of damage - ANS-impairment when people are overwhelmed with
information
Thalamus specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-Schizophrenia, PTSD, memory
problems
Hypothalamus key functions - ANS-maintains homeostasis, controls basic needs
(eating, drinking, temperature regulation, sleep-wake cycle)
Hypothalamus specific psychiatric conditions - ANS-Depression, anorexia, violence
Hypothalamus effects of damage - ANS-disturbed sleep, eating, changes in body
temperature, emotional instability
Cerebral Cortex - ANS-frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe
The thinking brain - ANS-Cerebral cortex
Frontal lobe major structures - ANS-motor strip, supplemental motor area, broca's area,
prefrontal cortex
frontal lobe key functions - ANS--executive functioning and personality
-higher-order planning, speech, motivation
-involved in emotional experience and expression of mood
prefrontal cortex regions - ANS--orbitofrontal, dorsolateral, medial
part of the brain's reward system - ANS-medial prefrontal cortex
works with amygdala to control emotional regulation and processing - ANS-dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
orbital frontal region effects of damage - ANS-results in lack of inhibition, promiscuity,
poor judgement, defects in executive functioning
, frontal lobe Broca's area - ANS-results in expressive aphasia
frontal lobe specific psychiatric conditions - ANS--frontal lobe syndrome, schizophrenia,
executive dysfunction syndrome, depression, bipolar, ADHD, and anxiety
Parietal lobe key functions - ANS--receives and evaluates sensory information
-Involved w/processing tactile and preprioceptive information, comprehension of
language
parietal lobe effects of damage - ANS-trouble recognizing familiar people, objects, or
surroundings
parietal lobe psychiatric conditions - ANS-aphasia, agnosia, and apraxia
occipital lobe key functions - ANS-vision and visual memory, language formation
occipital lobe effects of damage - ANS-vision loss, visual hallucination
occipital lobe psychiatric conditions - ANS-blindness, color blindness
temporal lobe key functions - ANS--receives and processes auditory information
-provides emotional context to memories
temporal lobe psychiatric conditions - ANS-auditory hallucinations in depression, mania,
and schizophrenia
temporal lobe effects of damage - ANS-fear, anxiety, rage, paranoia
dopamine pathways - ANS-Nigrostriatal tract
Mesolimbic tract
Mesocortical tract
Tuberoinfundibular tract
dopamine dietary precursor - ANS-Tyrosine
mesolimbic dopamine pathway - ANS--reward pathway
-associated w/mood disorders, psychoses, drug abuse, and positive symptoms of
schizophrenia
Nigrostriatal dopamine pathway - ANS-voluntary and involuntary movements
mesocortical dopamine pathway - ANS-cognition, planning and behavior
Tuberoinfundibular dopamine pathway - ANS-Extends to the pituitary where prolactin is
regulated
