WGU D574 Neuropsychology Exam
Study Guide 2026–2027 | 150 Exam
Questions and Answers with Rationales
GRADED A+ Instant Download
1. Which structure is the primary relay station for sensory information (excluding
smell) en route to the cerebral cortex?
A) Hypothalamus
B) Thalamus
C) Basal ganglia
D) Hippocampus
Answer: B) Thalamus
Rationale: The thalamus acts as the brain's sensory relay station, processing and
directing nearly all sensory input to the appropriate cortical regions. The hypothalamus
regulates homeostasis, the basal ganglia controls movement, and the hippocampus is
essential for memory formation .
2. Damage to Broca's area typically results in which type of speech pattern?
A) Fluent aphasia with poor comprehension
B) Non-fluent, effortful speech with relatively preserved comprehension
C) Pure word deafness
D) Alexia without agraphia
Answer: B) Non-fluent, effortful speech with relatively preserved comprehension
Rationale: Broca's area, located in the left inferior frontal gyrus, is critical for speech
production. Damage causes expressive (non-fluent) aphasia, characterized by effortful,
halting speech while comprehension remains relatively intact .
3. A patient who speaks fluently but with nonsensical content and impaired
comprehension most likely has damage to:
A) Broca's area
B) Wernicke's area
C) Arcuate fasciculus
, D) Primary motor cortex
Answer: B) Wernicke's area
Rationale: Fluent but nonsensical speech with comprehension deficits characterizes
Wernicke's aphasia, resulting from damage to the posterior superior temporal gyrus.
Damage to Broca's area (A) causes non-fluent speech, and damage to the arcuate
fasciculus (C) causes conduction aphasia with repetition deficits .
4. The corpus callosum primarily serves which function?
A) Connects the cerebellum to the brainstem
B) Transfers motor commands from cortex to spinal cord
C) Connects the two cerebral hemispheres
D) Produces cerebrospinal fluid
Answer: C) Connects the two cerebral hemispheres
Rationale: The corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract in the brain and is
responsible for interhemispheric communication, allowing the two cerebral hemispheres
to share information .
5. Which neurotransmitter system is primarily implicated in the pathophysiology
of Alzheimer's disease?
A) Dopamine
B) Acetylcholine
C) Serotonin
D) GABA
Answer: B) Acetylcholine
Rationale: Alzheimer's disease involves the degeneration of cholinergic neurons,
particularly in the basal forebrain. This cholinergic deficit correlates strongly with the
memory impairment seen in the disease .
6. Which imaging technique provides the best temporal resolution for studying
brain activity?
A) MRI
B) fMRI
C) PET
D) EEG
, Answer: D) EEG
Rationale: An EEG (electroencephalogram) measures electrical activity directly with
millisecond resolution, providing the best temporal resolution. fMRI (B) and PET (C) have
better spatial resolution but measure blood flow/metabolism with a lag of seconds-to-
minutes .
7. In a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, which pattern would most
strongly suggest Alzheimer's disease rather than frontotemporal dementia?
A) Disproportionate impairment on the Trail Making Test Part B compared to Part A
B) Significant deficits in confrontation naming with relative sparing of episodic memory
C) Marked impairment in delayed recall with intact recognition memory
D) Poor performance on the Stroop Color-Word Test with normal verbal fluency
Answer: C) Marked impairment in delayed recall with intact recognition memory
Rationale: Alzheimer's disease typically shows a pattern of rapid forgetting (poor
delayed recall) but relatively preserved recognition. This contrasts with frontotemporal
dementia, which often presents with language or executive deficits. Option B (naming
deficits with spared memory) is more characteristic of semantic variant PPA (a form of
frontotemporal dementia)
8. Which meningeal layer is directly adhered to the surface of the brain, following
its contours and sulci?
A) Dura mater
B) Arachnoid mater
C) Pia mater
D) Subdural membrane
Answer: C) Pia mater
Rationale: The pia mater is the innermost, delicate layer of the meninges that directly
invests the brain and spinal cord. The dura mater is the tough outer layer, and the
arachnoid mater is the middle layer .
9. The term "ipsilateral" refers to structures located on:
A) The opposite side of the body
B) The same side of the body
C) Both sides of the body
D) The contralateral side
, Answer: B) Same side
Rationale: Ipsilateral describes a structure on the same side of the body, while
contralateral describes a structure on the opposite side .
10. Which part of the nervous system is responsible for "fight or flight" responses?
A) Parasympathetic nervous system
B) Enteric nervous system
C) Somatic nervous system
D) Sympathetic nervous system
Answer: D) Sympathetic nervous system
Rationale: The sympathetic nervous system mobilizes the body's resources for stress
responses. The parasympathetic system facilitates "rest and digest" functions. The
enteric system controls the digestive system, and the somatic system controls voluntary
movement .
11. A patient presents with difficulty producing and comprehending the emotional
tone of speech, a condition known as aprosodia. This is most likely due to a lesion
in which area?
A) Left frontal lobe (Broca's area)
B) Left temporal lobe (Wernicke's area)
C) Right frontal lobe
D) Arcuate fasciculus
Answer: C) Right frontal lobe
Rationale: While the left hemisphere is dominant for language content, the right
hemisphere, particularly the frontal lobe, is dominant for prosody—the emotional tone
and melody of speech. A right frontal lesion can impair the production and
comprehension of prosody .
12. Which cells are responsible for the formation of myelin sheaths in the central
nervous system (CNS)?
A) Schwann cells
B) Oligodendrocytes
C) Astrocytes
D) Microglia
Answer: B) Oligodendrocytes
Rationale: Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the CNS. Schwann cells
Study Guide 2026–2027 | 150 Exam
Questions and Answers with Rationales
GRADED A+ Instant Download
1. Which structure is the primary relay station for sensory information (excluding
smell) en route to the cerebral cortex?
A) Hypothalamus
B) Thalamus
C) Basal ganglia
D) Hippocampus
Answer: B) Thalamus
Rationale: The thalamus acts as the brain's sensory relay station, processing and
directing nearly all sensory input to the appropriate cortical regions. The hypothalamus
regulates homeostasis, the basal ganglia controls movement, and the hippocampus is
essential for memory formation .
2. Damage to Broca's area typically results in which type of speech pattern?
A) Fluent aphasia with poor comprehension
B) Non-fluent, effortful speech with relatively preserved comprehension
C) Pure word deafness
D) Alexia without agraphia
Answer: B) Non-fluent, effortful speech with relatively preserved comprehension
Rationale: Broca's area, located in the left inferior frontal gyrus, is critical for speech
production. Damage causes expressive (non-fluent) aphasia, characterized by effortful,
halting speech while comprehension remains relatively intact .
3. A patient who speaks fluently but with nonsensical content and impaired
comprehension most likely has damage to:
A) Broca's area
B) Wernicke's area
C) Arcuate fasciculus
, D) Primary motor cortex
Answer: B) Wernicke's area
Rationale: Fluent but nonsensical speech with comprehension deficits characterizes
Wernicke's aphasia, resulting from damage to the posterior superior temporal gyrus.
Damage to Broca's area (A) causes non-fluent speech, and damage to the arcuate
fasciculus (C) causes conduction aphasia with repetition deficits .
4. The corpus callosum primarily serves which function?
A) Connects the cerebellum to the brainstem
B) Transfers motor commands from cortex to spinal cord
C) Connects the two cerebral hemispheres
D) Produces cerebrospinal fluid
Answer: C) Connects the two cerebral hemispheres
Rationale: The corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract in the brain and is
responsible for interhemispheric communication, allowing the two cerebral hemispheres
to share information .
5. Which neurotransmitter system is primarily implicated in the pathophysiology
of Alzheimer's disease?
A) Dopamine
B) Acetylcholine
C) Serotonin
D) GABA
Answer: B) Acetylcholine
Rationale: Alzheimer's disease involves the degeneration of cholinergic neurons,
particularly in the basal forebrain. This cholinergic deficit correlates strongly with the
memory impairment seen in the disease .
6. Which imaging technique provides the best temporal resolution for studying
brain activity?
A) MRI
B) fMRI
C) PET
D) EEG
, Answer: D) EEG
Rationale: An EEG (electroencephalogram) measures electrical activity directly with
millisecond resolution, providing the best temporal resolution. fMRI (B) and PET (C) have
better spatial resolution but measure blood flow/metabolism with a lag of seconds-to-
minutes .
7. In a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, which pattern would most
strongly suggest Alzheimer's disease rather than frontotemporal dementia?
A) Disproportionate impairment on the Trail Making Test Part B compared to Part A
B) Significant deficits in confrontation naming with relative sparing of episodic memory
C) Marked impairment in delayed recall with intact recognition memory
D) Poor performance on the Stroop Color-Word Test with normal verbal fluency
Answer: C) Marked impairment in delayed recall with intact recognition memory
Rationale: Alzheimer's disease typically shows a pattern of rapid forgetting (poor
delayed recall) but relatively preserved recognition. This contrasts with frontotemporal
dementia, which often presents with language or executive deficits. Option B (naming
deficits with spared memory) is more characteristic of semantic variant PPA (a form of
frontotemporal dementia)
8. Which meningeal layer is directly adhered to the surface of the brain, following
its contours and sulci?
A) Dura mater
B) Arachnoid mater
C) Pia mater
D) Subdural membrane
Answer: C) Pia mater
Rationale: The pia mater is the innermost, delicate layer of the meninges that directly
invests the brain and spinal cord. The dura mater is the tough outer layer, and the
arachnoid mater is the middle layer .
9. The term "ipsilateral" refers to structures located on:
A) The opposite side of the body
B) The same side of the body
C) Both sides of the body
D) The contralateral side
, Answer: B) Same side
Rationale: Ipsilateral describes a structure on the same side of the body, while
contralateral describes a structure on the opposite side .
10. Which part of the nervous system is responsible for "fight or flight" responses?
A) Parasympathetic nervous system
B) Enteric nervous system
C) Somatic nervous system
D) Sympathetic nervous system
Answer: D) Sympathetic nervous system
Rationale: The sympathetic nervous system mobilizes the body's resources for stress
responses. The parasympathetic system facilitates "rest and digest" functions. The
enteric system controls the digestive system, and the somatic system controls voluntary
movement .
11. A patient presents with difficulty producing and comprehending the emotional
tone of speech, a condition known as aprosodia. This is most likely due to a lesion
in which area?
A) Left frontal lobe (Broca's area)
B) Left temporal lobe (Wernicke's area)
C) Right frontal lobe
D) Arcuate fasciculus
Answer: C) Right frontal lobe
Rationale: While the left hemisphere is dominant for language content, the right
hemisphere, particularly the frontal lobe, is dominant for prosody—the emotional tone
and melody of speech. A right frontal lesion can impair the production and
comprehension of prosody .
12. Which cells are responsible for the formation of myelin sheaths in the central
nervous system (CNS)?
A) Schwann cells
B) Oligodendrocytes
C) Astrocytes
D) Microglia
Answer: B) Oligodendrocytes
Rationale: Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the CNS. Schwann cells
