PSYC 301 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What is bacterial meningitis? - Answers - Inflammatory reaction between the brain and
the skill (the meninges)
What are the symptoms of bacterial meningitis? - Answers - Fever, headache, stiffness
in neck
T/F: Is Bacterial meningitis progressive? - Answers - T: can lead to confusion or coma.
It is a medical emergency that needs to be treated with antibiotics. When you receive
treatment you improve really well.
What is Brain abscess? - Answers - A metastatic bacteria infection through the
nose/teeth infection.
What are 4 Viral Infections related to the brain? - Answers - 1. Viral Meningitis
2. Herpes Simplex encephalitis
3. HIV
4. Prior Diseases
What is viral meningitis? - Answers - Less serious form of meningitis but still can
progress to a coma and have same presentations as bacterial meningitis.
What happens to patients that are untreated with HIV? - Answers - Neurological
abnormalities show up 1/3 untreated patients that can progress to dementia
What is primarily effected with HIV? - Answers - Primarily white matter is affected
which disrupts frontal subcortical circuits similar to what is seen in MS to ischemic
vascular disease.
What is Priors Disease (creutzfeldt-Jakob disease + variants)? - Answers - This is mad
cows disease which develops in cows/indigestion of infected meat.
T/F: Is Priors disease rare - Answers - T
Where is mad cows disease found to happen a lot and in and why? - Answers - In New
Guinea because of cannibalism rituals that was eating the brain of the dead
T/F: Are there Idiopathic forms of these disease (Priors Disease) - Answers - T: There
are idiopathic forms
T/F: Is priors disease rapid in progression? - Answers - T: Yes, changes happen day
by day and week to week. This is the fastest progressing neurodegenerative
diseases/conditions
,What are the early phase symptoms of Priors disease? - Answers - Confusion,
hallucinations, delusions and myoclonus
What brain regions does Priors disease affect? - Answers - Occipital and temporal
regions
What 4 toxins can effect brain dysfunction? - Answers - 1. Alcohol
2. Recreational drugs
3. Poisons and venoms
4. Heavy Metals
What are the withdrawal symptoms of not drinking after a long period of time? -
Answers - Shaking, tremor, hallucinations, seizures
Typically experience improvement in cognition as long as they remain absence
How long does it take to improve from alcoholism? - Answers - weeks to months to
improve but the brain doesn't go back to normal and after a month of abstinence half the
people will still experience some ongoing deficits and 10% have ongoing/full dementia
What are the effects of alcoholism? - Answers - Neurological imaging shows a
reduction of brain volume, shown as larger ventricles because of loss of brain tissue.
What are the risks related to alcohol, age and duration of drinking on a daily basis? -
Answers - Dementia
What is the main difference between bacterial meningitis and viral meningitis? -
Answers - Bacteria culture is negative in viral meningitis which is the major difference.
What are the symptoms of herpes simplex encephalitis? - Answers - Starts with a
fever, headaches, seizures, confusion can happen at any age but mostly 20s-40s.
-Memory problems, personality change, hallucinations, bizarre behavior, mistaken for
psychiatric patients
What happened to Clive Wearing when he got diagnosed with Herpes simplex
encephalitis? - Answers - Has the properties to destroy temporal lobes as seen in
Clive Wearing's case.
What is the treatment for Herpes simplex encephalitis? - Answers - Anti-viral agents
What is HIV? - Answers - A virus that causes aids
What are the primary effects of alcoholism? - Answers - Primarily effects executive
functions, less so language abilities
, What is Wernickes-Korsakoff's Encephalopathy? - Answers - This is the effect of
heavy opiate use and can accompany chronic alcoholism (not caused by alcohol itself
but by severe thymine deficiency)
It is caused by a specific malnutrition that some people with alcohol disorder have.
What is the projection of Wernickes-Korsakoff's Encephalopathy? - Answers - Sudden
deterioration that characteristically results in severe amnesia, ability to learn new things
is effected (retrograde amnesia + confabulation= unintentionally lying [which is a
memory disorder])
What are some environments that can effect brain structures through toxins? - Answers
- Most of these people are exposed through their work (occupational exposure) ALSO
associated with recreational use and sniffing solvents
What is Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)? - Answers - Intersection of neurology
(brain) and psychiatry (mind)
What is the definition of FND? - Answers - -Sensory, motor, cognitive, or speech
problems not fully explained by known neurological disease
-Signs and symptoms are involuntary
What is the epidemiology of FND? - Answers - -4-12 per 100,000/year in general
population In neurological clinics, 5-6% have FND and ~30% of FND symptom overlay
- Females > males
-Sudden onset following a trigger (e.g., stressor, physical injury, medical procedure, etc)
-Frequent history of medically unexplained symptoms and/or functional disorders (e.g.,
IBS, chronic fatigue, etc.)
-High comorbidity with neurological and psychiatric disorders
What are the 5 different types of FND? - Answers - 1. Functional Weakness
2. Functional tremor
3. Non-Epileptic seizures
4. Functional speech disorder
5. Functional cognitive disorder
What are the symptoms of Functional weakness? - Answers - Typically involves one of
the non-dominant legs or arms
• Face not affected
• Normal tone and reflexes
• Give-way weakness in arm
• Hoover's sign in leg
• Dragging monoplegic gait (gait disturbance where leg is dragged like an inanimate
object - not seen in any other known neurological condition)
What is bacterial meningitis? - Answers - Inflammatory reaction between the brain and
the skill (the meninges)
What are the symptoms of bacterial meningitis? - Answers - Fever, headache, stiffness
in neck
T/F: Is Bacterial meningitis progressive? - Answers - T: can lead to confusion or coma.
It is a medical emergency that needs to be treated with antibiotics. When you receive
treatment you improve really well.
What is Brain abscess? - Answers - A metastatic bacteria infection through the
nose/teeth infection.
What are 4 Viral Infections related to the brain? - Answers - 1. Viral Meningitis
2. Herpes Simplex encephalitis
3. HIV
4. Prior Diseases
What is viral meningitis? - Answers - Less serious form of meningitis but still can
progress to a coma and have same presentations as bacterial meningitis.
What happens to patients that are untreated with HIV? - Answers - Neurological
abnormalities show up 1/3 untreated patients that can progress to dementia
What is primarily effected with HIV? - Answers - Primarily white matter is affected
which disrupts frontal subcortical circuits similar to what is seen in MS to ischemic
vascular disease.
What is Priors Disease (creutzfeldt-Jakob disease + variants)? - Answers - This is mad
cows disease which develops in cows/indigestion of infected meat.
T/F: Is Priors disease rare - Answers - T
Where is mad cows disease found to happen a lot and in and why? - Answers - In New
Guinea because of cannibalism rituals that was eating the brain of the dead
T/F: Are there Idiopathic forms of these disease (Priors Disease) - Answers - T: There
are idiopathic forms
T/F: Is priors disease rapid in progression? - Answers - T: Yes, changes happen day
by day and week to week. This is the fastest progressing neurodegenerative
diseases/conditions
,What are the early phase symptoms of Priors disease? - Answers - Confusion,
hallucinations, delusions and myoclonus
What brain regions does Priors disease affect? - Answers - Occipital and temporal
regions
What 4 toxins can effect brain dysfunction? - Answers - 1. Alcohol
2. Recreational drugs
3. Poisons and venoms
4. Heavy Metals
What are the withdrawal symptoms of not drinking after a long period of time? -
Answers - Shaking, tremor, hallucinations, seizures
Typically experience improvement in cognition as long as they remain absence
How long does it take to improve from alcoholism? - Answers - weeks to months to
improve but the brain doesn't go back to normal and after a month of abstinence half the
people will still experience some ongoing deficits and 10% have ongoing/full dementia
What are the effects of alcoholism? - Answers - Neurological imaging shows a
reduction of brain volume, shown as larger ventricles because of loss of brain tissue.
What are the risks related to alcohol, age and duration of drinking on a daily basis? -
Answers - Dementia
What is the main difference between bacterial meningitis and viral meningitis? -
Answers - Bacteria culture is negative in viral meningitis which is the major difference.
What are the symptoms of herpes simplex encephalitis? - Answers - Starts with a
fever, headaches, seizures, confusion can happen at any age but mostly 20s-40s.
-Memory problems, personality change, hallucinations, bizarre behavior, mistaken for
psychiatric patients
What happened to Clive Wearing when he got diagnosed with Herpes simplex
encephalitis? - Answers - Has the properties to destroy temporal lobes as seen in
Clive Wearing's case.
What is the treatment for Herpes simplex encephalitis? - Answers - Anti-viral agents
What is HIV? - Answers - A virus that causes aids
What are the primary effects of alcoholism? - Answers - Primarily effects executive
functions, less so language abilities
, What is Wernickes-Korsakoff's Encephalopathy? - Answers - This is the effect of
heavy opiate use and can accompany chronic alcoholism (not caused by alcohol itself
but by severe thymine deficiency)
It is caused by a specific malnutrition that some people with alcohol disorder have.
What is the projection of Wernickes-Korsakoff's Encephalopathy? - Answers - Sudden
deterioration that characteristically results in severe amnesia, ability to learn new things
is effected (retrograde amnesia + confabulation= unintentionally lying [which is a
memory disorder])
What are some environments that can effect brain structures through toxins? - Answers
- Most of these people are exposed through their work (occupational exposure) ALSO
associated with recreational use and sniffing solvents
What is Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)? - Answers - Intersection of neurology
(brain) and psychiatry (mind)
What is the definition of FND? - Answers - -Sensory, motor, cognitive, or speech
problems not fully explained by known neurological disease
-Signs and symptoms are involuntary
What is the epidemiology of FND? - Answers - -4-12 per 100,000/year in general
population In neurological clinics, 5-6% have FND and ~30% of FND symptom overlay
- Females > males
-Sudden onset following a trigger (e.g., stressor, physical injury, medical procedure, etc)
-Frequent history of medically unexplained symptoms and/or functional disorders (e.g.,
IBS, chronic fatigue, etc.)
-High comorbidity with neurological and psychiatric disorders
What are the 5 different types of FND? - Answers - 1. Functional Weakness
2. Functional tremor
3. Non-Epileptic seizures
4. Functional speech disorder
5. Functional cognitive disorder
What are the symptoms of Functional weakness? - Answers - Typically involves one of
the non-dominant legs or arms
• Face not affected
• Normal tone and reflexes
• Give-way weakness in arm
• Hoover's sign in leg
• Dragging monoplegic gait (gait disturbance where leg is dragged like an inanimate
object - not seen in any other known neurological condition)
