Chapter 03. Concepts of Psychobiology
Multiple Choice
1. A depressed client states, I have a chemical imbalance in my brain. I have no control
over my behavior. Medications are my only hope to feel normal again. Which nursing
response is appropriate?
A. Medications are one way to address chemical imbalances. Environmental and
interpersonal factors can also have an impact on biological factors.
B. Because biological factors are the sole cause of depression, medications will
improve your mood.
C. Environmental factors have been shown to exert the most influence in the
development of depression. D. Researchers have been unable to demonstrate a link
between nature (biology and genetics) and nurture
(environment).
ANS: A
The nurse should advise the client that medications are one treatment approach to
address biological factors, but there are other factors that affect mood. The nurse
should educate the client on environmental and interpersonal factors that can lead to
depression and the potential for psychological treatments to have a positive impact on
biological factors.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Application | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process:
Implementation | Client Need:
Health Promotion and Maintenance
2. A client diagnosed with major depressive disorder asks, What part of my brain
controls my emotions? Which nursing response is appropriate?
A. The occipital lobe governs perceptions, judging them as positive or negative. B. The
parietal lobe has been linked to depression.
C. The medulla regulates key biological and psychological activities. D. The limbic
system is largely responsible for ones emotional state. ANS: D
The nurse should explain to the client that the limbic system is largely responsible for
ones emotional state. This system is often called the emotional brain and is
associated with feelings, sexuality, and social behavior. The occipital lobes are the
,area of visual reception and interpretation. Somatosensory input (touch, taste,
temperature, etc.) occurs in the parietal lobes. The medulla contains vital centers that
regulate heart rate and reflexes.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Application | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process:
Implementation | Client Need:
Health Promotion and Maintenance
3. Which part of the nervous system should a nurse identify as playing a major role
during stressful situations? A. Peripheral nervous system
B. Somatic nervous system
C. Sympathetic nervous system
D. Parasympathetic nervous system
ANS: C
The nurse should identify that the sympathetic nervous system plays a major role
during stressful situations. The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the
fight-or-flight response. The parasympathetic nervous system is dominant when an
individual is in a nonstressful state.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Comprehension | Integrated Processes: Teaching/Learning |
Client Need: Health
Promotion and Maintenance
4. Which client statement reflects an understanding of the effect of circadian rhythms
on a persons ability to function?
A. When I dream about my mothers horrible train accident, I become hysterical. B. I get
really irritable during my menstrual cycle.
C. Im a morning person. I get my best work done in the a.m. D. Every February, I tend to
experience periods of sadness. ANS: C
By stating, I am a morning person, the client demonstrates an understanding that
circadian rhythms may influence a variety of regulatory functions, including the
sleepwake cycle, regulation of body temperature, and patterns of activity. Most
humans follow a 24-hour cycle that is largely affected by light and darkness.
, KEY: Cognitive Level: Analysis | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process: Evaluation |
Client Need:
Psychosocial Integrity
5. Which types of adoption studies should a nurse recognize as providing useful
information for the psychiatric community?
A. Studies in which children with mentally ill biological parents are raised by adoptive
parents who were mentally healthy
B. Studies in which children with mentally healthy biological parents are raised by
adoptive parents who were mentally ill
C. Studies in which monozygotic twins from mentally ill parents were raised separately
by different adoptive parents
D. Studies in which monozygotic twins were raised together by mentally ill biological
parents
E. All of the above
ANS: E
The nurse should determine that all of the studies could possibly benefit the
psychiatric community. The studies may reveal research findings relating genetic links
to mental illness. Adoption studies allow comparisons to be made of the influences of
the environment versus genetics.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Analysis | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process: Evaluation |
Client Need: Health
Promotion and Maintenance
6. Six months after her husband and children were killed in a car accident, a client is
diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The nurse should recognize that this situation
validates which study perspective?
A. The study of neuroendocrinology
Multiple Choice
1. A depressed client states, I have a chemical imbalance in my brain. I have no control
over my behavior. Medications are my only hope to feel normal again. Which nursing
response is appropriate?
A. Medications are one way to address chemical imbalances. Environmental and
interpersonal factors can also have an impact on biological factors.
B. Because biological factors are the sole cause of depression, medications will
improve your mood.
C. Environmental factors have been shown to exert the most influence in the
development of depression. D. Researchers have been unable to demonstrate a link
between nature (biology and genetics) and nurture
(environment).
ANS: A
The nurse should advise the client that medications are one treatment approach to
address biological factors, but there are other factors that affect mood. The nurse
should educate the client on environmental and interpersonal factors that can lead to
depression and the potential for psychological treatments to have a positive impact on
biological factors.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Application | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process:
Implementation | Client Need:
Health Promotion and Maintenance
2. A client diagnosed with major depressive disorder asks, What part of my brain
controls my emotions? Which nursing response is appropriate?
A. The occipital lobe governs perceptions, judging them as positive or negative. B. The
parietal lobe has been linked to depression.
C. The medulla regulates key biological and psychological activities. D. The limbic
system is largely responsible for ones emotional state. ANS: D
The nurse should explain to the client that the limbic system is largely responsible for
ones emotional state. This system is often called the emotional brain and is
associated with feelings, sexuality, and social behavior. The occipital lobes are the
,area of visual reception and interpretation. Somatosensory input (touch, taste,
temperature, etc.) occurs in the parietal lobes. The medulla contains vital centers that
regulate heart rate and reflexes.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Application | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process:
Implementation | Client Need:
Health Promotion and Maintenance
3. Which part of the nervous system should a nurse identify as playing a major role
during stressful situations? A. Peripheral nervous system
B. Somatic nervous system
C. Sympathetic nervous system
D. Parasympathetic nervous system
ANS: C
The nurse should identify that the sympathetic nervous system plays a major role
during stressful situations. The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the
fight-or-flight response. The parasympathetic nervous system is dominant when an
individual is in a nonstressful state.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Comprehension | Integrated Processes: Teaching/Learning |
Client Need: Health
Promotion and Maintenance
4. Which client statement reflects an understanding of the effect of circadian rhythms
on a persons ability to function?
A. When I dream about my mothers horrible train accident, I become hysterical. B. I get
really irritable during my menstrual cycle.
C. Im a morning person. I get my best work done in the a.m. D. Every February, I tend to
experience periods of sadness. ANS: C
By stating, I am a morning person, the client demonstrates an understanding that
circadian rhythms may influence a variety of regulatory functions, including the
sleepwake cycle, regulation of body temperature, and patterns of activity. Most
humans follow a 24-hour cycle that is largely affected by light and darkness.
, KEY: Cognitive Level: Analysis | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process: Evaluation |
Client Need:
Psychosocial Integrity
5. Which types of adoption studies should a nurse recognize as providing useful
information for the psychiatric community?
A. Studies in which children with mentally ill biological parents are raised by adoptive
parents who were mentally healthy
B. Studies in which children with mentally healthy biological parents are raised by
adoptive parents who were mentally ill
C. Studies in which monozygotic twins from mentally ill parents were raised separately
by different adoptive parents
D. Studies in which monozygotic twins were raised together by mentally ill biological
parents
E. All of the above
ANS: E
The nurse should determine that all of the studies could possibly benefit the
psychiatric community. The studies may reveal research findings relating genetic links
to mental illness. Adoption studies allow comparisons to be made of the influences of
the environment versus genetics.
KEY: Cognitive Level: Analysis | Integrated Processes: Nursing Process: Evaluation |
Client Need: Health
Promotion and Maintenance
6. Six months after her husband and children were killed in a car accident, a client is
diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The nurse should recognize that this situation
validates which study perspective?
A. The study of neuroendocrinology
