Which if the following findings on the mental status exam of a psychiatric patient is the
strongest predictor of inability to make medical decisions?
A. Lack of insight
B. Poor judgement
C. Suicidal ideation
D. Perceptual disturbances
E. Abnormal thought content - ANSWER A
Pedigree-based approaches are most powerful for identifying what type of gene
variant?
A. Copy number
B. Rare high penetrance
C. Simple tandem repeat
D. Common low penetrance
E. Single nucleotide polymorphism - ANSWER B
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of unipolar depression
targets which of the following brain regions?
A. Ventral striatum
B. Locus coeruleus
C. Periamygdaloid cortex
D. Medial temporal cortex
E. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - ANSWER E
Which of the following cognitive responses to environmental stimuli has been found to
be more characteristic of patients with anxiety disorders when compared to patients with
depression?
A. Misattributions regarding stimuli
B. Hopelessness regarding meaning of stimuli
C. Automatic negative thoughts toward the stimuli
D. Attentional bias toward potentially threatening stimuli
E. Lack of awareness of physiological responses to stimuli - ANSWER D
SKIP - ANSWER
Which of the following instructions can enhance hypoactive DTR in the leg?
A. Clench a first
B. Elevate an arm
C. Stare at a distant object
D. Think of moving the limb
E. Sensory stimulation of the opposite limb - ANSWER A
What is the leading cause of death in persons with severe mental illness?
,A. Cancer
B. Suicide
C. Diabetes
D. Accidents
E. Cardiovascular disease - ANSWER E
Which of the following medications is most effective for migraine prophylaxis?
A. Sumitriptan
B. Topiramate
C. Fluoxetine
D. Duloxetine
E. Naproxen - ANSWER B
Which of the following epigenetic mechanisms inhibits the transcriptional machinery
from accessing DNA and thus leads to decreased gene transcription?
A. Acetylation
B. Methylation
C. Demethylation
D. Histone modification
E. Chromatin remodeling - ANSWER B
Patients with which of the following neurocognitive disorders are more likely to develop
severe extrapyramidal side effects from antipsychotic medications?
A. Prior disease
B. Alzheimer disease
C. Lewy body disease
D. Cerebrovascular disease
E. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration - ANSWER C
Which of the following is the strongest risk factor for development of chronic daily
headache in adults?
A. Obesity
B. Depression
C. Medication overuse
D. Low socioeconomic status
E. Older age of onset of headaches - ANSWER C
Which of the following neurotransmitters is predominantly inhibitory?
A. Norepinephrine
B. Glutamate
C. Dopamine
D. Tyrosine
E. Glycine - ANSWER E
Maintenance of wakefulness is dependent on which of the following areas of the brain?
A. Oral pontine
, B. Midbrain tegmentum
C. Posterior hypothalamus
D. Anterior cingulate parietal cortex
E. Ascending reticular activating system - ANSWER E
Which of the following signs or symptoms is necessary to make a diagnosis of anorexia
nervosa?
A. Amenorrhea
B. Perfectionistic behaviors
C. Intense fear of gaining weight
D. Body mass index less than 20
E. A subjective felling of loss of control while eating - ANSWER C
When a child reaches the stage of formal operations, which of the following is a new
cognitive capacity gained?
A. Centration
B. Abstraction
C. Reversibility
D. Egocentrism
E. Object permanence - ANSWER B
A 25-year-old with a history of developmental delays presents for evaluation of anger
outbursts. Prior karyotyping has demonstrated a microdeletion of genetic material. This
finding is most likely to be seen in which of the following disorders?
A. Phenylketonuria
B. Down syndrome
C. Tuberous sclerosis
D. Fragile X syndrome
E. Prader-Willi syndrome - ANSWER E
Which of the following areas are connected by the stria terminalis?
A Broca's and Wernike's area
B Hippocampus and subgenual cingulate
C Lateral habenular and ventral tegmental area
D Amygdala to the medial dorsal thalamic nucleus
E Amygdala to the septal area and the hypothalamus - ANSWER E
Which of the following is an evidence-based practice with the most available research
that reduces relapses and symptoms, and improves medication adherence in
schizophrenia?
A Case management
B Occupational therapy
C Group psychotherapy
D Family psychoeducation
E Cognitive behavioral therapy - ANSWER D