PMHNP Psychopharmacology – Exam 4 – Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Program – Complex Cases and Psychotropic Pharmacology Review
This Q&A-based exam review supports preparation for PMHNP Psychopharmacology Exam 4,
focusing on complex clinical scenarios and advanced pharmacological principles. Topics may
include treatment-resistant disorders, pediatric and geriatric psychopharmacology, mood and
anxiety comorbidity management, drug-drug interactions, and newer psychotropic agents. Ideal
for reinforcing clinical decision-making and final exam readiness in a PMHNP program.
1. What is a mental disorder: Disorder of psychological functioning (behavioral,
cognitive, or emotional) sufficiently severe to require treatment (does not arise from
a medical condition with physiological cause
2. Major depressive disorder symptoms: ~
At least 5 symptoms in a 2 week period
- Depressed mood
- Lack of interest or pleasure in perviously enjoyed activities
- Change in body weight
- Change in sleep patterns
- Fatigue
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating
- Thoughts of suicide
, 3. What symptoms would constitute the diagnosis of persistent depressive
disorder (dysthymia)?:
~ Depressed mood that occurs nearly everyday for at least 2 years
~ With at least 2 symptoms listed under major depressive disorder
4. What are the brain abnormalities within depression: ~ Overactive
amygdala (mediates feelings of fear and aggression)
~ Volume reductions in the hippocampus (Involved in learning and memory and a
location of neurogenesis)
~ Decreased energy metabolism and volume reductions in the prefrontal cortex
(correlated with depression severity)
~ Volume reductions and under activity in the nucleus accumbens/basal ganglia
(reward and motor response facilitation
5. What is the monoamine hypothesis of depression?: States that depression
is caused by insufficient activity of monoaminergic neurons (with a major focus on
NE and 5-HT)
- Drugs that decrease monoaminergic activity (reserpine) induce
depression - Some subtypes of NE and 5-HT receptors are unregulated in the
brains of deceased, untreated depressed individuals
- CSF levels of 5-HIAA were significantly lower in people that had
attempted suicide than those in control subjects
6. How many classifications of antidepressant drugs are there?: ~
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors ~ Tricyclic antidepressants
~ Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
~ Serotonin-Norepinepherine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) ~
Atypical antidepressants
7. MAO inhibitors: Bind to MAO ad prevent the breakdown of monoamines
Program – Complex Cases and Psychotropic Pharmacology Review
This Q&A-based exam review supports preparation for PMHNP Psychopharmacology Exam 4,
focusing on complex clinical scenarios and advanced pharmacological principles. Topics may
include treatment-resistant disorders, pediatric and geriatric psychopharmacology, mood and
anxiety comorbidity management, drug-drug interactions, and newer psychotropic agents. Ideal
for reinforcing clinical decision-making and final exam readiness in a PMHNP program.
1. What is a mental disorder: Disorder of psychological functioning (behavioral,
cognitive, or emotional) sufficiently severe to require treatment (does not arise from
a medical condition with physiological cause
2. Major depressive disorder symptoms: ~
At least 5 symptoms in a 2 week period
- Depressed mood
- Lack of interest or pleasure in perviously enjoyed activities
- Change in body weight
- Change in sleep patterns
- Fatigue
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating
- Thoughts of suicide
, 3. What symptoms would constitute the diagnosis of persistent depressive
disorder (dysthymia)?:
~ Depressed mood that occurs nearly everyday for at least 2 years
~ With at least 2 symptoms listed under major depressive disorder
4. What are the brain abnormalities within depression: ~ Overactive
amygdala (mediates feelings of fear and aggression)
~ Volume reductions in the hippocampus (Involved in learning and memory and a
location of neurogenesis)
~ Decreased energy metabolism and volume reductions in the prefrontal cortex
(correlated with depression severity)
~ Volume reductions and under activity in the nucleus accumbens/basal ganglia
(reward and motor response facilitation
5. What is the monoamine hypothesis of depression?: States that depression
is caused by insufficient activity of monoaminergic neurons (with a major focus on
NE and 5-HT)
- Drugs that decrease monoaminergic activity (reserpine) induce
depression - Some subtypes of NE and 5-HT receptors are unregulated in the
brains of deceased, untreated depressed individuals
- CSF levels of 5-HIAA were significantly lower in people that had
attempted suicide than those in control subjects
6. How many classifications of antidepressant drugs are there?: ~
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors ~ Tricyclic antidepressants
~ Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
~ Serotonin-Norepinepherine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) ~
Atypical antidepressants
7. MAO inhibitors: Bind to MAO ad prevent the breakdown of monoamines
