PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY NEUROSCIENTIFIC BASIS AND
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS QUESTIONS WITH
RATIONALES AND ANSWERS LATEST 2024-2025 UPDATE
Chapter 1 Chemical Neurotransmission
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A Patient With Depression Mentions To The Nurse, My Mother Says
Depression Is A Chemical Disorder. What Does She Mean? The Nurses
Response Is Based On The Theory That Depression Primarily Involves
Which Of The Following Neurotransmitters?
a. Cortisol And GABA
b. COMT And Glutamate
c. Monamine And Glycine
d. Serotonin And Norepinephrine
ANS: D
One Possible Cause Of Depression Is Thought To Involve One Or More
Neurotransmitters. Serotonin And Norepinephrine Have Been Found
To Be Important In The Regulation Of Depression. There Is No
Research To Support That The Other Options Play A Significant Role
In The Development Of Depression.
2. A Patient Has Experienced A Stroke (Cerebral Vascular Accident)
That Has Resulted In Damage To The Broca Area. Which Evaluation
Does The Nurse Conduct To Reinforce This Diagnosis?
, a. Observing The Patient Pick Up A Spoon
b. Asking The Patient To Recite The Alphabet
c. Monitoring The Patients Blood Pressure
d. Comparing The Patients Grip Strength In Both Hands
ANS: B
Accidents Or Strokes That Damage Brocas Area May Result In The
Inability To Speak (I.E., Motor Aphasia). Fine Motor Skills, Blood
Pressure Control, And Muscle Strength Are Not Controlled By The
Broca Area Of The Left Frontal Lobe.
3. The Patient Diagnosed With Schizophrenia Asks Why Psychotropic
Medications Are Always Prescribed By The Doctor. The Nurses Answer
Will Be Based On Information That The Therapeutic Action Of
Psychotropic Drugs Is The Result Of Their Effect On: Medications Used
To Treat Psychiatric Disorders Operate In And Around The Synaptic
Cleft And Have Action At The Neurotransmitter Level, Especially In The
Case Of Schizophrenia, On Dopamine. The Wernickes Area, Dendrite
Function, Or The Sensitivity Of The Peripheral Nervous System Are Not
Relevant To Either Schizophrenia Or Psychotropic Medications.
4. A Student Nurse Mutters That It Seems Entirely Unnecessary To
Have To Struggle With Understanding The Anatomy And Physiology Of
The Neurologic System. The Mentor Would Base A Response On The
Understanding That It Is:
, Necessary But Generally For Psychiatric Nurses Who Focus
Primarily On
a. Behavioral Interventions
A Complex Undertaking That Advance Practice Psychiatric Nurses
Frequently Use B. In Their Practice
Important Primarily For The Nursing Assessment Of Patients
With Brain
c. Traumacaused Cognitive Symptoms
Necessary For Planning Psychiatric Care For All Patients Especially
Those
d. Experiencing Psychiatric Disorders
ANS: D
Nurses Must Understand That Many Symptoms Of Psychiatric
Disorders Have A
Neurologic Basis, Although The Symptoms Are Manifested
Behaviorally. This Understanding Facilitates Effective Care Planning.
The Foundation Of Knowledge Is Not Used Exclusively By Advanced
Practice Psychiatric Nurses Nor Is It Relevant For Only Behavior
Therapies Or Brain Trauma Since Dealing With The Results Of Normal
And Abnormal Brain Function Is A Responsibility Of All Nurses
Providing All Types Of Care To The Psychiatric Patient.
5. A Patient Asks The Nurse, My Wife Has Breast Cancer. Could It Be
Caused By Her Chronic Depression? Which Response Is Supported By
Research Data?