NURS 5357 NEUROBIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE EXAM
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are activated by: - ✔✔Glutamate, glycine,
and depolarization
✔✔Neurogenesis occurs in adults: - ✔✔In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and in
the olfactory bulb
✔✔A 24-year-old woman is hospitalized after an altercation in which she screamed at
and attacked her neighbor when he knocked on her door. Her mother reports that she
has been increasingly erratic recently, with emotional outbursts and impulsive behavior.
Which of the following brain regions is most likely associated with these symptoms? -
✔✔Orbital frontal cortex
✔✔A major current hypothesis for the cause of schizophrenia proposes that N-methyl-d-
aspartate (NMDA) receptors may be: - ✔✔Hypofunctional
✔✔According to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, which underlying
neurobiological mechanisms are associated with positive symptoms? - ✔✔Hyperactive
mesolimbic pathway
✔✔Frank is a 24-year-old patient recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is currently
taking an antipsychotic, and his psychosis symptoms are reasonably well resolved. At a
follow-up visit, you notice that Frank does not seem to be able to sit still; he is constantly
pacing the examining room, and when he does sit down, he rocks back and forth,
fidgets, and repetitively crosses and uncrosses his legs.
Drug-induced akathisia is caused by: - ✔✔The pathophysiology is not known
✔✔Which of the following is an example that represents the influence of genetics on
behavior and traits? - ✔✔A young boy inherits his outgoing personality from his father.
✔✔Adult neurogenesis happens in which area of the brain? - ✔✔Hippocampus
✔✔Threatening objects produce a startle response prior to a person becoming
consciously aware of the objects. This happens because of the thalamus connection to
what? - ✔✔Amygdala
✔✔What neurodevelopmental process predominantly occurs during adolescence and
young adulthood and is an explanation for why adults are superior to adolescents in
abstract thinking after undergoing this process? - ✔✔Synaptic pruning
, ✔✔1. Brodmann's areas are differentiated by the a. Cortical morphology. b. Cellular
architecture. c. Afferent connections. d. Predominant neurotransmitter. - ✔✔b. Cellular
architecture.
✔✔2. The orbitofrontal aspect of the PFC describes the area a. Above the corpus
callosum. b. Posterior to the amygdala. c. At the base of the PFC. d. Anterior to the
cingulate gyrus. - ✔✔c. At the base of the PFC
✔✔3. Lesions of the medical (also ventromedial) PFC are associated with a. Paucity of
spontaneous behavior—apathetic. b. Disorganized cognitive function. c. Concrete
thinking. d. Poor impulse control. - ✔✔a. Paucity of spontaneous behavior—apathetic.
✔✔4. All of the following are true about the hippocampus except that it a. Is smaller in
some psychiatric disorders. b. Is involved with memory. c. Is disrupted by frontal
lobotomy. d. Contains undifferentiated stem cells. - ✔✔c. Is disrupted by frontal
lobotomy.
✔✔5. The "command center" of the brain is the a. Hippocampus. b. Amygdala. c.
Autonomic nervous system. d. Hypothalamus. - ✔✔d. Hypothalamus.
✔✔6. All of the following are true about the sympathetic nervous system except that it a.
Stimulates digestion. b. Is associated with anxiety. c. Stimulates secretions from the
adrenal medulla. d. Relaxes the airways. - ✔✔a. Stimulates digestion
✔✔7. The cerebellum a. Solely functions to support movement. b. Has been implicated
with autism. c. Is similar to the motor cortex. d. Is relatively small in humans. - ✔✔b.
Has been implicated with autism.
✔✔8. The BBB can be crossed by all of the following except a. Lipid-soluble molecules.
b. Active transport across the cell wall. c. Breaches in the tight junctions. d. Most
medications - ✔✔d. Most medications
✔✔1. The pyramidal cells in the gray matter reside predominantly in which layers? a. I
and III. b. II and IV. c. III and V. d. IV and VI. - ✔✔c. III and V.
✔✔2. Protein synthesis requires all of the following except a. Rough ER. b. Gene
expression. c. Transcription and translation. d. Messenger RNA. - ✔✔a. Rough ER
✔✔3. Enhanced arborization of the dendrites is found with a. Mental retardation. b.
Stimulating environments. c. Usual laboratory environments. d. Schizophrenia. - ✔✔b.
Stimulating environments.
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are activated by: - ✔✔Glutamate, glycine,
and depolarization
✔✔Neurogenesis occurs in adults: - ✔✔In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and in
the olfactory bulb
✔✔A 24-year-old woman is hospitalized after an altercation in which she screamed at
and attacked her neighbor when he knocked on her door. Her mother reports that she
has been increasingly erratic recently, with emotional outbursts and impulsive behavior.
Which of the following brain regions is most likely associated with these symptoms? -
✔✔Orbital frontal cortex
✔✔A major current hypothesis for the cause of schizophrenia proposes that N-methyl-d-
aspartate (NMDA) receptors may be: - ✔✔Hypofunctional
✔✔According to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, which underlying
neurobiological mechanisms are associated with positive symptoms? - ✔✔Hyperactive
mesolimbic pathway
✔✔Frank is a 24-year-old patient recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is currently
taking an antipsychotic, and his psychosis symptoms are reasonably well resolved. At a
follow-up visit, you notice that Frank does not seem to be able to sit still; he is constantly
pacing the examining room, and when he does sit down, he rocks back and forth,
fidgets, and repetitively crosses and uncrosses his legs.
Drug-induced akathisia is caused by: - ✔✔The pathophysiology is not known
✔✔Which of the following is an example that represents the influence of genetics on
behavior and traits? - ✔✔A young boy inherits his outgoing personality from his father.
✔✔Adult neurogenesis happens in which area of the brain? - ✔✔Hippocampus
✔✔Threatening objects produce a startle response prior to a person becoming
consciously aware of the objects. This happens because of the thalamus connection to
what? - ✔✔Amygdala
✔✔What neurodevelopmental process predominantly occurs during adolescence and
young adulthood and is an explanation for why adults are superior to adolescents in
abstract thinking after undergoing this process? - ✔✔Synaptic pruning
, ✔✔1. Brodmann's areas are differentiated by the a. Cortical morphology. b. Cellular
architecture. c. Afferent connections. d. Predominant neurotransmitter. - ✔✔b. Cellular
architecture.
✔✔2. The orbitofrontal aspect of the PFC describes the area a. Above the corpus
callosum. b. Posterior to the amygdala. c. At the base of the PFC. d. Anterior to the
cingulate gyrus. - ✔✔c. At the base of the PFC
✔✔3. Lesions of the medical (also ventromedial) PFC are associated with a. Paucity of
spontaneous behavior—apathetic. b. Disorganized cognitive function. c. Concrete
thinking. d. Poor impulse control. - ✔✔a. Paucity of spontaneous behavior—apathetic.
✔✔4. All of the following are true about the hippocampus except that it a. Is smaller in
some psychiatric disorders. b. Is involved with memory. c. Is disrupted by frontal
lobotomy. d. Contains undifferentiated stem cells. - ✔✔c. Is disrupted by frontal
lobotomy.
✔✔5. The "command center" of the brain is the a. Hippocampus. b. Amygdala. c.
Autonomic nervous system. d. Hypothalamus. - ✔✔d. Hypothalamus.
✔✔6. All of the following are true about the sympathetic nervous system except that it a.
Stimulates digestion. b. Is associated with anxiety. c. Stimulates secretions from the
adrenal medulla. d. Relaxes the airways. - ✔✔a. Stimulates digestion
✔✔7. The cerebellum a. Solely functions to support movement. b. Has been implicated
with autism. c. Is similar to the motor cortex. d. Is relatively small in humans. - ✔✔b.
Has been implicated with autism.
✔✔8. The BBB can be crossed by all of the following except a. Lipid-soluble molecules.
b. Active transport across the cell wall. c. Breaches in the tight junctions. d. Most
medications - ✔✔d. Most medications
✔✔1. The pyramidal cells in the gray matter reside predominantly in which layers? a. I
and III. b. II and IV. c. III and V. d. IV and VI. - ✔✔c. III and V.
✔✔2. Protein synthesis requires all of the following except a. Rough ER. b. Gene
expression. c. Transcription and translation. d. Messenger RNA. - ✔✔a. Rough ER
✔✔3. Enhanced arborization of the dendrites is found with a. Mental retardation. b.
Stimulating environments. c. Usual laboratory environments. d. Schizophrenia. - ✔✔b.
Stimulating environments.
