ABPP MOCK EXAM 1 QUESTIONS
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Which of the following is a differentiating factor in comparing "familial" Alzheimer's (in
which a genetic link has been established) from the more common "nonfamilial"
Alzheimer's?\n \n\na) Age of onset \n\nb) Core clinical/behavioral features \n\nc)
Post-mortem neuropathological changes \n\nd) None of the above (e.g., aside from
genetics the two syndromes are identical) - ANSWER-14 a Interestingly, other than
age of onset, there are not consistent clinical differences between familial and
nonfamilial AD. Familial cases tend to have earlier onset (middle adulthood vs over
65).
If brain damage involves structures surrounding the cribiform plate, it is likely that
which cranial nerve would be involved?\n \n\na) Olfactory \n\nb) Optic \n\nc) Facial \
n\nd) Hypoglossal - ANSWER-15 a The olfactory nerve travels across the cribiform
plate of the ethmoid bone to synapse in the olfactory bulbs. The sense of smell may
be lost following head trauma due to damage to the olfactory nerves as they
penetrate the olfactory plate.
A patient who is unable to recognize his family members, or his doctor of many
years, is likely suffering from ________. If this problem is the result of a unilateral
disorder, it is likely that the lesion is in the ______ hemisphere.\n \n\na)
Simultanagnosia, Left \n\nb) Simultanagnosia, Right \n\nc) Prosopagnosia, Left \n\
nd) Prosopagnosia, Right - ANSWER-16 d Agnosia handout, page 2. Prosopagnosia
is the inability to recognize known faces, and to learn new ones. Lesions are typically
bilateral in the occipitotemporal cortex and underlying white matter; if unilateral, it
results from right hemisphere lesions.
Which of the following is not characteristic of multiple sclerosis? \n\n\na) Dysarthria \
n\nb) Aphasia \n\nc) Nystagmus \n\nd) Tremor - ANSWER-17 b Page 354 in
Kaufman "Since the cerebral cortical 'gray matter' which has no myelin is relatively
spared, MS patients rarely develop signs of cerebral cortical dysfunction, such a
seizures or aphasia."
Anomic aphasia is typically caused by damage to the following area of the left
hemisphere:\n \n\na) Thalamus \n\nb) Angular Gyrus \n\nc) Wernicke's and Broca's
Areas \n\nd) Arcuate Fasciculus - ANSWER-18 b
Which one of the following statements is true? \n\n\na) Approximately 5% of all
causes of dementia are reversible \n\nb) Approximately 25% of all causes of
dementia are reversible \n\nc) Approximately 45% of all causes of dementia are
reversible \n\nd) Approximately 65% of all causes of dementia are reversible -
ANSWER-19 a "More than 50 different illnesses produce symptoms of dementia.
Available studies indicate that, on average, 5% of all causes of dementia are
reversible and 11% have some specific treatment available, although not typically
resulting in symptom reversal. Kasniak, A. (2002). Dementia. In Encyclopedia of the
human brain, Vol. 1. Elsevier.
, An examiner gives a patient the WASI while he is on an inpatient rehabilitation unit.
The patient is then seen as an outpatient to track his recovery, where he is
administered the WAIS-III. What sources of variability or error variance might affect
his scores and obscure real changes in his functioning?\n \n\na) Differences in
items/content (i.e., item heterogeneity) \n\nb) Time differences \n\nc) Scorer
differences \n\nd) All of the above - ANSWER-20 d
Which one of the following is true about malingering? \n\n\na) Any patient who is
involved in a personal injury case or has a lawyer must be malingering\n \nb)
Patients with genuine organic illnesses will not exaggerate their symptoms \n\nc)
Malingering patients typically demonstrate more difficulties with memory than they do
with attention\n \nd) Malingering is detectable through face-to-face clinical interviews
alone - ANSWER-21 c
PTA, or Post Traumatic Amnesia, refers to: \n\n\na) The fact that most children
cannot remember traumatic events that happened to them.\n \nb) A period of time
following a TBI in which the patient cannot remember what had happened to cause
the injury.\n \nc) A period of time following a TBI in which new memories cannot be
consistently formed.\n \nd) The memory difficulties typically associated with Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder. - ANSWER-22 c There is a brief discussion of PTA in
Yeates, Ris, & Taylor, but the definition is in the INS dictionary.
Which of the following measures would likely be least sensitive to the effects of a
brain injury?\n \n\na) Achievement Test \n\nb) IQ Test \n\nc) Memory Test \n\nd)
Continuous Performance Test (CPT) - ANSWER-6 a Standardized achievement
testing may not be sensitive to the effects of closed head injuries. Long term follow-
up studies are needed, however, to determine whether the academic achievement of
children with severe injuries gradually lags behind that of their uninjured peers.
(Yeates, Ris, & Taylor, Page 102).
What is the classic triad of symptoms seen in acute Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome?\
n \n\na) Ataxia, vertigo, and vomiting \n\nb) Ataxia, eye movement abnormalities,
and confusional state \n\nc) Extrapyramidal movement disorder, hallucinations, and
personality changes \n\nd) Gradually-developing anterograde amnesia,
constructional deficits, and anosmia - ANSWER-7 b Use the mnemonic "ace" if it
helps. Acute Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome causes ataxia, confusion, and eye
movement abnormalities. The other symptom sets listed are related to other
disorders, though not pathognominic for any of them (e.g., increased intracranial
pressure with downward herniation for "a", Lewy Body Dementia for "b", and
Alzheimer's for "c").
Heschl's gyrus is associated with which of the following? \n\n\na) Primary visual
cortex \n\nb) Primary auditory cortex \n\nc) Secondary auditory cortex \n\nd)
Somatosensory cortex - ANSWER-8 b
A right-handed patient sustains a PCA infarct that results in damage to the left
posterior white matter and the splenium of the corpus callosum, with relative gray
matter sparing. Which of the following symptom clusters is most likely to occur?\n \n\
na) Alexia without agraphia (a.k.a. posterior alexia or associative alexia) \n\nb)
Alexia with agraphia \n\nc) Frontal or anterior alexia (a.k.a. literal alexia) \n\nd)
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Which of the following is a differentiating factor in comparing "familial" Alzheimer's (in
which a genetic link has been established) from the more common "nonfamilial"
Alzheimer's?\n \n\na) Age of onset \n\nb) Core clinical/behavioral features \n\nc)
Post-mortem neuropathological changes \n\nd) None of the above (e.g., aside from
genetics the two syndromes are identical) - ANSWER-14 a Interestingly, other than
age of onset, there are not consistent clinical differences between familial and
nonfamilial AD. Familial cases tend to have earlier onset (middle adulthood vs over
65).
If brain damage involves structures surrounding the cribiform plate, it is likely that
which cranial nerve would be involved?\n \n\na) Olfactory \n\nb) Optic \n\nc) Facial \
n\nd) Hypoglossal - ANSWER-15 a The olfactory nerve travels across the cribiform
plate of the ethmoid bone to synapse in the olfactory bulbs. The sense of smell may
be lost following head trauma due to damage to the olfactory nerves as they
penetrate the olfactory plate.
A patient who is unable to recognize his family members, or his doctor of many
years, is likely suffering from ________. If this problem is the result of a unilateral
disorder, it is likely that the lesion is in the ______ hemisphere.\n \n\na)
Simultanagnosia, Left \n\nb) Simultanagnosia, Right \n\nc) Prosopagnosia, Left \n\
nd) Prosopagnosia, Right - ANSWER-16 d Agnosia handout, page 2. Prosopagnosia
is the inability to recognize known faces, and to learn new ones. Lesions are typically
bilateral in the occipitotemporal cortex and underlying white matter; if unilateral, it
results from right hemisphere lesions.
Which of the following is not characteristic of multiple sclerosis? \n\n\na) Dysarthria \
n\nb) Aphasia \n\nc) Nystagmus \n\nd) Tremor - ANSWER-17 b Page 354 in
Kaufman "Since the cerebral cortical 'gray matter' which has no myelin is relatively
spared, MS patients rarely develop signs of cerebral cortical dysfunction, such a
seizures or aphasia."
Anomic aphasia is typically caused by damage to the following area of the left
hemisphere:\n \n\na) Thalamus \n\nb) Angular Gyrus \n\nc) Wernicke's and Broca's
Areas \n\nd) Arcuate Fasciculus - ANSWER-18 b
Which one of the following statements is true? \n\n\na) Approximately 5% of all
causes of dementia are reversible \n\nb) Approximately 25% of all causes of
dementia are reversible \n\nc) Approximately 45% of all causes of dementia are
reversible \n\nd) Approximately 65% of all causes of dementia are reversible -
ANSWER-19 a "More than 50 different illnesses produce symptoms of dementia.
Available studies indicate that, on average, 5% of all causes of dementia are
reversible and 11% have some specific treatment available, although not typically
resulting in symptom reversal. Kasniak, A. (2002). Dementia. In Encyclopedia of the
human brain, Vol. 1. Elsevier.
, An examiner gives a patient the WASI while he is on an inpatient rehabilitation unit.
The patient is then seen as an outpatient to track his recovery, where he is
administered the WAIS-III. What sources of variability or error variance might affect
his scores and obscure real changes in his functioning?\n \n\na) Differences in
items/content (i.e., item heterogeneity) \n\nb) Time differences \n\nc) Scorer
differences \n\nd) All of the above - ANSWER-20 d
Which one of the following is true about malingering? \n\n\na) Any patient who is
involved in a personal injury case or has a lawyer must be malingering\n \nb)
Patients with genuine organic illnesses will not exaggerate their symptoms \n\nc)
Malingering patients typically demonstrate more difficulties with memory than they do
with attention\n \nd) Malingering is detectable through face-to-face clinical interviews
alone - ANSWER-21 c
PTA, or Post Traumatic Amnesia, refers to: \n\n\na) The fact that most children
cannot remember traumatic events that happened to them.\n \nb) A period of time
following a TBI in which the patient cannot remember what had happened to cause
the injury.\n \nc) A period of time following a TBI in which new memories cannot be
consistently formed.\n \nd) The memory difficulties typically associated with Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder. - ANSWER-22 c There is a brief discussion of PTA in
Yeates, Ris, & Taylor, but the definition is in the INS dictionary.
Which of the following measures would likely be least sensitive to the effects of a
brain injury?\n \n\na) Achievement Test \n\nb) IQ Test \n\nc) Memory Test \n\nd)
Continuous Performance Test (CPT) - ANSWER-6 a Standardized achievement
testing may not be sensitive to the effects of closed head injuries. Long term follow-
up studies are needed, however, to determine whether the academic achievement of
children with severe injuries gradually lags behind that of their uninjured peers.
(Yeates, Ris, & Taylor, Page 102).
What is the classic triad of symptoms seen in acute Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome?\
n \n\na) Ataxia, vertigo, and vomiting \n\nb) Ataxia, eye movement abnormalities,
and confusional state \n\nc) Extrapyramidal movement disorder, hallucinations, and
personality changes \n\nd) Gradually-developing anterograde amnesia,
constructional deficits, and anosmia - ANSWER-7 b Use the mnemonic "ace" if it
helps. Acute Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome causes ataxia, confusion, and eye
movement abnormalities. The other symptom sets listed are related to other
disorders, though not pathognominic for any of them (e.g., increased intracranial
pressure with downward herniation for "a", Lewy Body Dementia for "b", and
Alzheimer's for "c").
Heschl's gyrus is associated with which of the following? \n\n\na) Primary visual
cortex \n\nb) Primary auditory cortex \n\nc) Secondary auditory cortex \n\nd)
Somatosensory cortex - ANSWER-8 b
A right-handed patient sustains a PCA infarct that results in damage to the left
posterior white matter and the splenium of the corpus callosum, with relative gray
matter sparing. Which of the following symptom clusters is most likely to occur?\n \n\
na) Alexia without agraphia (a.k.a. posterior alexia or associative alexia) \n\nb)
Alexia with agraphia \n\nc) Frontal or anterior alexia (a.k.a. literal alexia) \n\nd)
