NURSING ASSESSMENT CHAPTER 23:
NEUROLOGIC NCLEX EXAM 2025
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The two parts of the nervous system are the:
a. Motor and sensory.
b. Central and peripheral.
c. Peripheral and autonomic.
d. Hypothalamus and cerebral. - ANS b. Central and peripheral.
The nervous system can be divided into two partscentral and peripheral. The central nervous
system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system includes the 12 pairs
of cranial nerves (CNs), the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and all of their branches.
The wife of a 65-year-old man tells the nurse that she is concerned because she has noticed a
change in her husbands personality and ability to understand. He also cries very easily and
becomes angry. The nurse recalls that the cerebral lobe responsible for these behaviors is the
__________ lobe.
a. Frontal
b. Parietal
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,c. Occipital
d. Temporal - ANS a. Frontal
The frontal lobe has areas responsible for personality, behavior, emotions, and intellectual
function. The parietal lobe has areas responsible for sensation; the occipital lobe is responsible
for visual reception; and the temporal lobe is responsible for hearing, taste, and smell.
Which statement concerning the areas of the brain is true?
a. The cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions.
b. The hypothalamus controls body temperature and regulates sleep.
c. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
d. Motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus. - ANS b. The
hypothalamus controls body temperature and regulates sleep.
The hypothalamus is a vital area with many important functions: body temperature controller,
sleep center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and coordinator of autonomic
nervous system activity and emotional status. The cerebellum controls motor coordination,
equilibrium, and balance. The basal ganglia control autonomic movements of the body. The
motor pathways of the spinal cord synapse in various areas of the spinal cord, not in the
thalamus.
The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the:
a. Medulla.
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,b. Cerebellum.
c. Spinal cord.
d. Cerebral cortex. - ANS c. Spinal cord.
The spinal cord is the main highway for ascending and descending fiber tracts that connect the
brain to the spinal nerves; it is responsible for mediating reflexes.
While gathering equipment after an injection, a nurse accidentally received a prick from an
improperly capped needle. To interpret this sensation, which of these areas must be intact?
a. Corticospinal tract, medulla, and basal ganglia
b. Pyramidal tract, hypothalamus, and sensory cortex
c. Lateral spinothalamic tract, thalamus, and sensory cortex
d. Anterior spinothalamic tract, basal ganglia, and sensory cortex - ANS c. Lateral
spinothalamic tract, thalamus, and sensory cortex
The spinothalamic tract contains sensory fibers that transmit the sensations of pain,
temperature, and crude or light touch. Fibers carrying pain and temperature sensations ascend
the lateral spinothalamic tract, whereas the sensations of crude touch form the anterior
spinothalamic tract. At the thalamus, the fibers synapse with another sensory neuron, which
carries the message to the sensory cortex for full interpretation. The other options are not
correct.
A patient with a lack of oxygen to his heart will have pain in his chest and possibly in the
shoulder, arms, or jaw. The nurse knows that the best explanation why this occurs is which one
of these statements?
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, a. A problem exists with the sensory cortex and its ability to discriminate the location.
b. The lack of oxygen in his heart has resulted in decreased amount of oxygen to the areas
experiencing the pain.
c. The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in the heart; consequently, the
pain is felt elsewhere.
d. A lesion has developed in the dorsal root, which is preventing the sensation from being
transmitted normally. - ANS c. The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in
the heart; consequently, the pain is felt elsewhere.
The sensory cortex is arranged in a specific pattern, forming a corresponding map of the body.
Pain in the right hand is perceived at a specific spot on the map. Some organs, such as the
heart, liver, and spleen, are absent from the brain map. Pain originating in these organs is
referred because no felt image exists in which to have pain. Pain is felt by proxy, that is, by
another body part that does have a felt image. The other responses are not correct
explanations.
The ability that humans have to perform very skilled movements such as writing is controlled by
the:
a. Basal ganglia.
b. Corticospinal tract.
c. Spinothalamic tract.
d. Extrapyramidal tract. - ANS b. Corticospinal tract.
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NEUROLOGIC NCLEX EXAM 2025
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The two parts of the nervous system are the:
a. Motor and sensory.
b. Central and peripheral.
c. Peripheral and autonomic.
d. Hypothalamus and cerebral. - ANS b. Central and peripheral.
The nervous system can be divided into two partscentral and peripheral. The central nervous
system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system includes the 12 pairs
of cranial nerves (CNs), the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and all of their branches.
The wife of a 65-year-old man tells the nurse that she is concerned because she has noticed a
change in her husbands personality and ability to understand. He also cries very easily and
becomes angry. The nurse recalls that the cerebral lobe responsible for these behaviors is the
__________ lobe.
a. Frontal
b. Parietal
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,c. Occipital
d. Temporal - ANS a. Frontal
The frontal lobe has areas responsible for personality, behavior, emotions, and intellectual
function. The parietal lobe has areas responsible for sensation; the occipital lobe is responsible
for visual reception; and the temporal lobe is responsible for hearing, taste, and smell.
Which statement concerning the areas of the brain is true?
a. The cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions.
b. The hypothalamus controls body temperature and regulates sleep.
c. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
d. Motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus. - ANS b. The
hypothalamus controls body temperature and regulates sleep.
The hypothalamus is a vital area with many important functions: body temperature controller,
sleep center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and coordinator of autonomic
nervous system activity and emotional status. The cerebellum controls motor coordination,
equilibrium, and balance. The basal ganglia control autonomic movements of the body. The
motor pathways of the spinal cord synapse in various areas of the spinal cord, not in the
thalamus.
The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the:
a. Medulla.
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,b. Cerebellum.
c. Spinal cord.
d. Cerebral cortex. - ANS c. Spinal cord.
The spinal cord is the main highway for ascending and descending fiber tracts that connect the
brain to the spinal nerves; it is responsible for mediating reflexes.
While gathering equipment after an injection, a nurse accidentally received a prick from an
improperly capped needle. To interpret this sensation, which of these areas must be intact?
a. Corticospinal tract, medulla, and basal ganglia
b. Pyramidal tract, hypothalamus, and sensory cortex
c. Lateral spinothalamic tract, thalamus, and sensory cortex
d. Anterior spinothalamic tract, basal ganglia, and sensory cortex - ANS c. Lateral
spinothalamic tract, thalamus, and sensory cortex
The spinothalamic tract contains sensory fibers that transmit the sensations of pain,
temperature, and crude or light touch. Fibers carrying pain and temperature sensations ascend
the lateral spinothalamic tract, whereas the sensations of crude touch form the anterior
spinothalamic tract. At the thalamus, the fibers synapse with another sensory neuron, which
carries the message to the sensory cortex for full interpretation. The other options are not
correct.
A patient with a lack of oxygen to his heart will have pain in his chest and possibly in the
shoulder, arms, or jaw. The nurse knows that the best explanation why this occurs is which one
of these statements?
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, a. A problem exists with the sensory cortex and its ability to discriminate the location.
b. The lack of oxygen in his heart has resulted in decreased amount of oxygen to the areas
experiencing the pain.
c. The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in the heart; consequently, the
pain is felt elsewhere.
d. A lesion has developed in the dorsal root, which is preventing the sensation from being
transmitted normally. - ANS c. The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in
the heart; consequently, the pain is felt elsewhere.
The sensory cortex is arranged in a specific pattern, forming a corresponding map of the body.
Pain in the right hand is perceived at a specific spot on the map. Some organs, such as the
heart, liver, and spleen, are absent from the brain map. Pain originating in these organs is
referred because no felt image exists in which to have pain. Pain is felt by proxy, that is, by
another body part that does have a felt image. The other responses are not correct
explanations.
The ability that humans have to perform very skilled movements such as writing is controlled by
the:
a. Basal ganglia.
b. Corticospinal tract.
c. Spinothalamic tract.
d. Extrapyramidal tract. - ANS b. Corticospinal tract.
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