MN551 EXAM SCRIPT VERIFIED QUESTIONS
AND DETAILED SOLUTIONS
●● Which of the following statements most accurately characterizes an
aspect of the neurobiology of sleep?
Answer: Input from the retinas is interpreted by the cerebellum and
contributes to maintenance of the circadian rhythm.
********The reticular formation, thalamus, and cerebral cortex interact
to integrate the sleep-wake cycle.
The pituitary releases melatonin at predictable points in the circadian
rhythm in order to facilitate sleep.
The hypothalamus stimulates the anterior and posterior pituitary to
modulate sleeping-waking cycles.
●● After surviving an ischemic stroke, a 79-year-old male has
demonstrated significant changes in his emotional behavior, with his
family noting that he now experiences wide mood swings and
exaggerated responses of empathy, anger, and sadness to situations. His
care team would most likely attribute these responses to ischemic
changes in which of the following brain structures?
Answer: *****The components of the patient's limbic system
, The man's parietal lobe
The patient's temporal lobe in general and Wernicke area in particular
The man's occipital lobe
●● A 44-year-old female has been diagnosed with major depression.
Which of the following neuroimaging findings is most congruent with
the woman's diagnosis?
Answer: Enlargement of the lateral and third ventricles and reduction in
frontal and temporal volumes
Atrophy and decreased blood flow in the amygdala
******Reduced activity and gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex
Decreased brain activity in the pons and brain stem
●● The parents of a 15-year-old boy are frustrated by his persistent
inability to fall asleep at a reasonable hour at night, as well as the
extreme difficulty that they have in rousing him in the morning. While
sleepy after waking, the son claims not to feel drowsy after lunch or in
AND DETAILED SOLUTIONS
●● Which of the following statements most accurately characterizes an
aspect of the neurobiology of sleep?
Answer: Input from the retinas is interpreted by the cerebellum and
contributes to maintenance of the circadian rhythm.
********The reticular formation, thalamus, and cerebral cortex interact
to integrate the sleep-wake cycle.
The pituitary releases melatonin at predictable points in the circadian
rhythm in order to facilitate sleep.
The hypothalamus stimulates the anterior and posterior pituitary to
modulate sleeping-waking cycles.
●● After surviving an ischemic stroke, a 79-year-old male has
demonstrated significant changes in his emotional behavior, with his
family noting that he now experiences wide mood swings and
exaggerated responses of empathy, anger, and sadness to situations. His
care team would most likely attribute these responses to ischemic
changes in which of the following brain structures?
Answer: *****The components of the patient's limbic system
, The man's parietal lobe
The patient's temporal lobe in general and Wernicke area in particular
The man's occipital lobe
●● A 44-year-old female has been diagnosed with major depression.
Which of the following neuroimaging findings is most congruent with
the woman's diagnosis?
Answer: Enlargement of the lateral and third ventricles and reduction in
frontal and temporal volumes
Atrophy and decreased blood flow in the amygdala
******Reduced activity and gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex
Decreased brain activity in the pons and brain stem
●● The parents of a 15-year-old boy are frustrated by his persistent
inability to fall asleep at a reasonable hour at night, as well as the
extreme difficulty that they have in rousing him in the morning. While
sleepy after waking, the son claims not to feel drowsy after lunch or in
