HOSA behavioral health knowledge
Exam 2025 Questions and Answers
Central Nervous system (CNS) - ✔✔includes the brain and spinal cord
brainstem - ✔✔contains midbrain, medulla, and pons
medulla - ✔✔controls vital body functions ex: heart rate, breathing
pons - ✔✔control the management of sleep, arousal, facial expression
cerebellum - ✔✔maintaining balance and motor coordination
cerebellum - ✔✔contains more neurons than the rest of the brain
midbrain - ✔✔controls sensory reflexes, movement, pain
reticular formation - ✔✔controls mood, arousal, sleep; major source of serotonin and
norepinephrine
thalamus - ✔✔controls sensation, memory, states of consciousness; receives sensory
input from most systems
basal ganglia - ✔✔voluntary movement; degeneration in Parkinson's, also involved in
OCD and ADHD
hypothalamus - ✔✔involved w/ motivation and homeostasis; regulates temperature,
hunger thirst; directs ANS and endocrine system
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,hippocampus - ✔✔formation of long term memories
cingulate cortex - ✔✔directs ANS; plays role in decision making, emotion, anticipation
of reward, empathy
amygdala - ✔✔fear and aggression
nucleus accumbens - ✔✔reward and pleasure
corpus callosum - ✔✔connects hemispheres
cerebral cortex - ✔✔thin layer of gray matter covering cerebral hemispheres
frontal lobe - ✔✔primary motor cortex and areas responsible for most complex
cognitive processes
Broca's area - ✔✔speech production in left hemisphere
prefrontal cortex - ✔✔planning behavior, attention, and judgement
orbitofrontal cortex - ✔✔emotion, impulse control
occipital lobe - ✔✔primary visual cortex
temporal lobe - ✔✔primary auditory cortex
parietal lobe - ✔✔primary somatosensory cortex (involved in neglect syndrome)
lateralization - ✔✔localization of function in one of the hemispheres (Ex: language
lateralized in the left hemisphere)
Peripheral Nervous System - ✔✔nerves and ganglia outside the CNS; contains somatic
and autonomic nervous systems
somatic nervous system - ✔✔transmits commands for voluntary movement
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, autonomic nervous system - ✔✔controls glands and organs; contains sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system - ✔✔fight or flight; expenditure of energy
parasympathetic nervous system - ✔✔rest and digest; storage of energy
enteric nervous system - ✔✔nerve cells embedded in lining of gastrointestinal system;
communicates with endocrine system; source of 95% of boys serotonin
endocrine system - ✔✔responsible for release of hormones into bloodstream; responses
to input from hypothalamus
pineal gland - ✔✔releases melatonin; maintenance of sleep-wake cycles
pituitary gland - ✔✔master gland; stimulates activity of other glands
main parts of the neuron - ✔✔soma (cell body), axons (transmit info), dendrites (receive
info)
glial cells - ✔✔provide structural matrix, clean up debris, form blood-brain barrier
myelin - ✔✔insulating material covering axons; increase conduction
glial cells - ✔✔cells that form scar tissue in the brain and spinal cord
young adulthood - ✔✔The prefrontal cortex in myelinated in
action potential - ✔✔electrical signal arising in a neurons axon
resting potential - ✔✔electrical charge across membrane when neuron is not firing
action - ✔✔The _________ potential is initiated when the membrane is depolarized to
threshold
synapse - ✔✔point of communication between neurons
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
Exam 2025 Questions and Answers
Central Nervous system (CNS) - ✔✔includes the brain and spinal cord
brainstem - ✔✔contains midbrain, medulla, and pons
medulla - ✔✔controls vital body functions ex: heart rate, breathing
pons - ✔✔control the management of sleep, arousal, facial expression
cerebellum - ✔✔maintaining balance and motor coordination
cerebellum - ✔✔contains more neurons than the rest of the brain
midbrain - ✔✔controls sensory reflexes, movement, pain
reticular formation - ✔✔controls mood, arousal, sleep; major source of serotonin and
norepinephrine
thalamus - ✔✔controls sensation, memory, states of consciousness; receives sensory
input from most systems
basal ganglia - ✔✔voluntary movement; degeneration in Parkinson's, also involved in
OCD and ADHD
hypothalamus - ✔✔involved w/ motivation and homeostasis; regulates temperature,
hunger thirst; directs ANS and endocrine system
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,hippocampus - ✔✔formation of long term memories
cingulate cortex - ✔✔directs ANS; plays role in decision making, emotion, anticipation
of reward, empathy
amygdala - ✔✔fear and aggression
nucleus accumbens - ✔✔reward and pleasure
corpus callosum - ✔✔connects hemispheres
cerebral cortex - ✔✔thin layer of gray matter covering cerebral hemispheres
frontal lobe - ✔✔primary motor cortex and areas responsible for most complex
cognitive processes
Broca's area - ✔✔speech production in left hemisphere
prefrontal cortex - ✔✔planning behavior, attention, and judgement
orbitofrontal cortex - ✔✔emotion, impulse control
occipital lobe - ✔✔primary visual cortex
temporal lobe - ✔✔primary auditory cortex
parietal lobe - ✔✔primary somatosensory cortex (involved in neglect syndrome)
lateralization - ✔✔localization of function in one of the hemispheres (Ex: language
lateralized in the left hemisphere)
Peripheral Nervous System - ✔✔nerves and ganglia outside the CNS; contains somatic
and autonomic nervous systems
somatic nervous system - ✔✔transmits commands for voluntary movement
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, autonomic nervous system - ✔✔controls glands and organs; contains sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system - ✔✔fight or flight; expenditure of energy
parasympathetic nervous system - ✔✔rest and digest; storage of energy
enteric nervous system - ✔✔nerve cells embedded in lining of gastrointestinal system;
communicates with endocrine system; source of 95% of boys serotonin
endocrine system - ✔✔responsible for release of hormones into bloodstream; responses
to input from hypothalamus
pineal gland - ✔✔releases melatonin; maintenance of sleep-wake cycles
pituitary gland - ✔✔master gland; stimulates activity of other glands
main parts of the neuron - ✔✔soma (cell body), axons (transmit info), dendrites (receive
info)
glial cells - ✔✔provide structural matrix, clean up debris, form blood-brain barrier
myelin - ✔✔insulating material covering axons; increase conduction
glial cells - ✔✔cells that form scar tissue in the brain and spinal cord
young adulthood - ✔✔The prefrontal cortex in myelinated in
action potential - ✔✔electrical signal arising in a neurons axon
resting potential - ✔✔electrical charge across membrane when neuron is not firing
action - ✔✔The _________ potential is initiated when the membrane is depolarized to
threshold
synapse - ✔✔point of communication between neurons
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
