1|P a g e
WGU D574 NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OBJECTIVE
ASSESSMENT ACTUAL EXAM PREP 2026 ALL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
|RATED A+ |HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY EXPERTS
|NEW AND REVISED
1. A patient presents with inability to voluntarily initiate movements,
muscle rigidity, and a tremor at rest. These symptoms are MOST
characteristic of damage to which brain structure?
A) Cerebellum
B) Substantia nigra
C) Hippocampus
D) Amygdala
Rationale: These are classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which
results from degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in the
substantia nigra pars compacta. The cerebellum coordinates
movement but damage causes ataxia, not rigidity/tremor. The
hippocampus is crucial for memory formation. The amygdala
processes emotions.
2. During a neuropsychological assessment, a patient can copy complex
figures accurately but cannot draw them from memory. This pattern
suggests specific impairment in:
A) Visuoconstructional abilities
B) Procedural memory
C) Visuospatial memory
D) Executive functioning
,2|P a g e
Rationale: Intact copying with impaired recall suggests a memory
deficit rather than a perceptual or constructional problem.
Visuoconstructional abilities would affect copying itself. Procedural
memory involves skills, not figure drawing. Executive functioning
relates to planning and organization.
3. Which neurotransmitter system is primarily implicated in the
pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease?
A) Dopamine
B) Acetylcholine
C) Serotonin
D) GABA
Rationale: Alzheimer's disease involves degeneration of cholinergic
neurons, particularly in the basal forebrain. While other systems are
affected, the cholinergic deficit correlates strongly with memory
impairment. Parkinson's involves dopamine. Depression often involves
serotonin. Anxiety disorders may involve GABA.
4. A patient with damage to the right parietal lobe would MOST likely
exhibit:
A) Expressive aphasia
B) Left-sided neglect
C) Prosopagnosia
D) Broca's aphasia
Rationale: The right parietal lobe is critical for spatial awareness and
attention. Damage often results in left-sided neglect (hemispatial
neglect), where the patient ignores the left side of their world.
Expressive aphasia and Broca's aphasia are associated with left
frontal damage. Prosopagnosia involves the fusiform gyrus.
5. What is the primary function of the hippocampus?
,3|P a g e
A) Emotional processing
B) Motor coordination
C) Memory consolidation
D) Language comprehension
Rationale: The hippocampus is essential for the consolidation of new
declarative memories, converting short-term memories into long-term
storage. The amygdala is involved in emotional processing. The
cerebellum coordinates movement. Wernicke's area is involved in
language comprehension.
6. A patient with damage to the fusiform gyrus would MOST likely
experience:
A) Alexia
B) Prosopagnosia
C) Achromatopsia
D) Simultagnosia
Rationale: The fusiform gyrus, particularly the right fusiform face
area, is specialized for face recognition. Damage causes
prosopagnosia (face blindness). Alexia involves left occipitotemporal
regions. Achromatopsia involves V4. Simultagnosia involves parietal-
occipital regions.
7. Which of the following is a key feature of Wernicke's aphasia?
A) Non-fluent, effortful speech
B) Fluent speech with poor comprehension
C) Intact repetition with poor naming
D) Isolated writing impairment
Rationale: Wernicke's aphasia (receptive aphasia) is characterized by
fluent but meaningless speech with significant comprehension deficits.
Non-fluent, effortful speech is characteristic of Broca's aphasia.
, 4|P a g e
Repetition is impaired in Wernicke's aphasia. Writing impairment
typically mirrors speech impairment.
8. The "what" pathway (ventral stream) in visual processing is primarily
responsible for:
A) Object recognition and identification
B) Spatial location and motion perception
C) Depth perception
D) Color processing only
Rationale: The ventral stream (the "what" pathway) extends from the
occipital lobe to the temporal lobe and is responsible for object
recognition and identification. The dorsal stream (the "where"
pathway) is responsible for spatial location and motion perception.
9. A patient with damage to the cerebellum would MOST likely exhibit:
A) Memory loss
B) Ataxia and intention tremor
C) Hemiplegia
D) Aphasia
Rationale: The cerebellum is responsible for coordinating voluntary
movement, balance, and motor learning. Damage results in ataxia
(uncoordinated movement) and intention tremor (tremor that worsens
with purposeful movement). Memory loss is associated with the
hippocampus. Hemiplegia is associated with the motor cortex. Aphasia
is associated with language areas.
10. Which neuroimaging technique provides the BEST temporal
resolution?
A) MRI
B) fMRI
C) PET
D) EEG
WGU D574 NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OBJECTIVE
ASSESSMENT ACTUAL EXAM PREP 2026 ALL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
|RATED A+ |HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY EXPERTS
|NEW AND REVISED
1. A patient presents with inability to voluntarily initiate movements,
muscle rigidity, and a tremor at rest. These symptoms are MOST
characteristic of damage to which brain structure?
A) Cerebellum
B) Substantia nigra
C) Hippocampus
D) Amygdala
Rationale: These are classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which
results from degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in the
substantia nigra pars compacta. The cerebellum coordinates
movement but damage causes ataxia, not rigidity/tremor. The
hippocampus is crucial for memory formation. The amygdala
processes emotions.
2. During a neuropsychological assessment, a patient can copy complex
figures accurately but cannot draw them from memory. This pattern
suggests specific impairment in:
A) Visuoconstructional abilities
B) Procedural memory
C) Visuospatial memory
D) Executive functioning
,2|P a g e
Rationale: Intact copying with impaired recall suggests a memory
deficit rather than a perceptual or constructional problem.
Visuoconstructional abilities would affect copying itself. Procedural
memory involves skills, not figure drawing. Executive functioning
relates to planning and organization.
3. Which neurotransmitter system is primarily implicated in the
pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease?
A) Dopamine
B) Acetylcholine
C) Serotonin
D) GABA
Rationale: Alzheimer's disease involves degeneration of cholinergic
neurons, particularly in the basal forebrain. While other systems are
affected, the cholinergic deficit correlates strongly with memory
impairment. Parkinson's involves dopamine. Depression often involves
serotonin. Anxiety disorders may involve GABA.
4. A patient with damage to the right parietal lobe would MOST likely
exhibit:
A) Expressive aphasia
B) Left-sided neglect
C) Prosopagnosia
D) Broca's aphasia
Rationale: The right parietal lobe is critical for spatial awareness and
attention. Damage often results in left-sided neglect (hemispatial
neglect), where the patient ignores the left side of their world.
Expressive aphasia and Broca's aphasia are associated with left
frontal damage. Prosopagnosia involves the fusiform gyrus.
5. What is the primary function of the hippocampus?
,3|P a g e
A) Emotional processing
B) Motor coordination
C) Memory consolidation
D) Language comprehension
Rationale: The hippocampus is essential for the consolidation of new
declarative memories, converting short-term memories into long-term
storage. The amygdala is involved in emotional processing. The
cerebellum coordinates movement. Wernicke's area is involved in
language comprehension.
6. A patient with damage to the fusiform gyrus would MOST likely
experience:
A) Alexia
B) Prosopagnosia
C) Achromatopsia
D) Simultagnosia
Rationale: The fusiform gyrus, particularly the right fusiform face
area, is specialized for face recognition. Damage causes
prosopagnosia (face blindness). Alexia involves left occipitotemporal
regions. Achromatopsia involves V4. Simultagnosia involves parietal-
occipital regions.
7. Which of the following is a key feature of Wernicke's aphasia?
A) Non-fluent, effortful speech
B) Fluent speech with poor comprehension
C) Intact repetition with poor naming
D) Isolated writing impairment
Rationale: Wernicke's aphasia (receptive aphasia) is characterized by
fluent but meaningless speech with significant comprehension deficits.
Non-fluent, effortful speech is characteristic of Broca's aphasia.
, 4|P a g e
Repetition is impaired in Wernicke's aphasia. Writing impairment
typically mirrors speech impairment.
8. The "what" pathway (ventral stream) in visual processing is primarily
responsible for:
A) Object recognition and identification
B) Spatial location and motion perception
C) Depth perception
D) Color processing only
Rationale: The ventral stream (the "what" pathway) extends from the
occipital lobe to the temporal lobe and is responsible for object
recognition and identification. The dorsal stream (the "where"
pathway) is responsible for spatial location and motion perception.
9. A patient with damage to the cerebellum would MOST likely exhibit:
A) Memory loss
B) Ataxia and intention tremor
C) Hemiplegia
D) Aphasia
Rationale: The cerebellum is responsible for coordinating voluntary
movement, balance, and motor learning. Damage results in ataxia
(uncoordinated movement) and intention tremor (tremor that worsens
with purposeful movement). Memory loss is associated with the
hippocampus. Hemiplegia is associated with the motor cortex. Aphasia
is associated with language areas.
10. Which neuroimaging technique provides the BEST temporal
resolution?
A) MRI
B) fMRI
C) PET
D) EEG
