MSN 671 Final Exam Questions and Answers Latest Update 2025
29-year-old patient is morbidly obese and reports that he is "addicted to food". Hunger circuitry
is connected to reward circuitry via dopaminergic projections from the hypothalamus to the
nucleus accumbens. True or false? - Answers True
A 19-year-old female requires a hospital consultation, after she was admitted following an
attempted suicide. Her family reports that she has been suffering from severe depression for
the last 3 years. What area of the brain may best be described as hypothetically involved in her
feelings of worthlessness and suicidality? - Answers Amygdala
A 21-year-old man who has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia presents with his parents.
He speaks with a reserved and simple language processing style; he is able to understand and
relate to simple questions but seems to get lost when the pace of the conversation between
clinician and parents accelerates. When reviewing the patient's history, what pattern of cognitive
functioning prior to psychosis onset would you be most likely to find? - Answers Impaired
cognitive functioning pre-morbidly with further decline during the prodromal phase
A 21-year-old man with first-episode psychosis is prescribed an antipsychotic that has serotonin
2A antagonism. According to a leading hypothesis, blockade of serotonin 2A receptors in the
cortex can ultimately increase dopamine in the striatum through what initial mechanism? -
Answers Decreased glutamate and thus decreased GABA in the brainstem
A 22 year old man exhibits a fear response in reaction to unexpectedly encountering a bear
while hiking. The various expressions of fear are hypothetically regulated by circuitry centered
around the: - Answers Amygdala
A 22-year-old man exhibits a fear response in reaction to unexpectedly encountering a bear
while hiking. The various expressions of fear are hypothetically regulated by circuitry centered
around the: - Answers Amygdala
A 22-year-old woman presents with schizophrenia characterized by the presence of positive,
negative, cognitive, and affective symptoms. The symptom dimension of schizophrenia most
effectively treated with antipsychotics is: - Answers Positive symptoms
A 23-year-old female college student has gotten in significant trouble for her risky and impulsive
behavior, stealing a fire extinguisher, driving on the common area lawn, and hostilely addressing
a professor. Which of the following monoamine projections may account for her recent behavior?
Projections to the: - Answers Prefrontal cortex
A 26 year old patient with ADHD has recently entered a drug rehab center follow arrest for
possession of cocaine. The cocaine use in this patient may be an attempt to self medicate for
ADHD symptoms b/c it inhibits the dopamine transporter (but is not itself taken up into the
neuron by the transporter). Thus cocaine has the same action at the dopamine transporter as: -
Answers Cocaine has the same actions at the dopamine transporter as methylphenidate (Ritalin)
, A 35-year-old cigarette smoker would like to quit but is nervous because she typically craves a
cigarette approximately every 2 hrs. The craving and withdrawal are due to: - Answers
Resensitization of nicotinic receptors
A 44-year-old male with schizophrenia has been taking an antipsychotic medication since initial
diagnosis twelve years ago. He has recently begun experiencing difficulty with fluid movement
of his arms as well as involuntary facial grimaces. Which of the following likely underlies these
symptoms? - Answers Upregulation of dopamine 2 receptors
A 44-year-old patient has schizophrenia and comorbid alcohol abuse disorder. Alcohol has what
effect on GABA and glutamate in the ventral tegmental area? - Answers Increases GABA and
decreases glutamate
A 45-year-old female patient continues to maintain the re-experiencing of her fear of the
opposite sex, which began one year ago when she was raped on her way to a parking garage.
Which two brain regions are involved in the reciprocal relationship resulting in this symptom? -
Answers Amygdala and hippocampus
A 48 year old patient with depression was recently started on 20mg/day fluoxetine to combat
his presenting symptoms of apathy, fatigue, problems concentrating and hypersomnia. The
patient reports that he is feeling much more energized and can see improvements in his
cognition and attention within a day or two of starting fluoxetine. Which properties of fluoxetine
are likely responsible for this positive response? - Answers 5HT2C antagonism
A clinician has decided to administer an alpha 2 antagonist to his patient. Alpha 2 antagonists
have what effect on neurotransmission? - Answers Increase norepinephrine and increase
serotonin
A leading hypothesis of psychosis is: - Answers Hypo-functioning of NMDA receptors
A man maintained on clozapine now presents with depressive symptoms. His clinician is
considering adding fluvoxamine. If Fluvoxamine, a CYP1A2 inhibitor is added to clozapine, a
CYP1A2 substrate, which of the following lab test would you most likely to expect for this
patient? - Answers Increased plasma levels of clozapine
A partial agonist has what effect on neurotransmission? - Answers Net agonism when
neurotransmission is deficient, net antagonism when neurotransmission is excessive
A patient with generalized anxiety disorder is taking a benzodiazepine. What role do
benzodiazepines play in GABA neurotransmission? - Answers Increase it via positive allosteric
modulation
Agents that block reuptake of norepinephrine have what effect on dopamine in the prefrontal
cortex? - Answers Increase its synaptic availability
29-year-old patient is morbidly obese and reports that he is "addicted to food". Hunger circuitry
is connected to reward circuitry via dopaminergic projections from the hypothalamus to the
nucleus accumbens. True or false? - Answers True
A 19-year-old female requires a hospital consultation, after she was admitted following an
attempted suicide. Her family reports that she has been suffering from severe depression for
the last 3 years. What area of the brain may best be described as hypothetically involved in her
feelings of worthlessness and suicidality? - Answers Amygdala
A 21-year-old man who has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia presents with his parents.
He speaks with a reserved and simple language processing style; he is able to understand and
relate to simple questions but seems to get lost when the pace of the conversation between
clinician and parents accelerates. When reviewing the patient's history, what pattern of cognitive
functioning prior to psychosis onset would you be most likely to find? - Answers Impaired
cognitive functioning pre-morbidly with further decline during the prodromal phase
A 21-year-old man with first-episode psychosis is prescribed an antipsychotic that has serotonin
2A antagonism. According to a leading hypothesis, blockade of serotonin 2A receptors in the
cortex can ultimately increase dopamine in the striatum through what initial mechanism? -
Answers Decreased glutamate and thus decreased GABA in the brainstem
A 22 year old man exhibits a fear response in reaction to unexpectedly encountering a bear
while hiking. The various expressions of fear are hypothetically regulated by circuitry centered
around the: - Answers Amygdala
A 22-year-old man exhibits a fear response in reaction to unexpectedly encountering a bear
while hiking. The various expressions of fear are hypothetically regulated by circuitry centered
around the: - Answers Amygdala
A 22-year-old woman presents with schizophrenia characterized by the presence of positive,
negative, cognitive, and affective symptoms. The symptom dimension of schizophrenia most
effectively treated with antipsychotics is: - Answers Positive symptoms
A 23-year-old female college student has gotten in significant trouble for her risky and impulsive
behavior, stealing a fire extinguisher, driving on the common area lawn, and hostilely addressing
a professor. Which of the following monoamine projections may account for her recent behavior?
Projections to the: - Answers Prefrontal cortex
A 26 year old patient with ADHD has recently entered a drug rehab center follow arrest for
possession of cocaine. The cocaine use in this patient may be an attempt to self medicate for
ADHD symptoms b/c it inhibits the dopamine transporter (but is not itself taken up into the
neuron by the transporter). Thus cocaine has the same action at the dopamine transporter as: -
Answers Cocaine has the same actions at the dopamine transporter as methylphenidate (Ritalin)
, A 35-year-old cigarette smoker would like to quit but is nervous because she typically craves a
cigarette approximately every 2 hrs. The craving and withdrawal are due to: - Answers
Resensitization of nicotinic receptors
A 44-year-old male with schizophrenia has been taking an antipsychotic medication since initial
diagnosis twelve years ago. He has recently begun experiencing difficulty with fluid movement
of his arms as well as involuntary facial grimaces. Which of the following likely underlies these
symptoms? - Answers Upregulation of dopamine 2 receptors
A 44-year-old patient has schizophrenia and comorbid alcohol abuse disorder. Alcohol has what
effect on GABA and glutamate in the ventral tegmental area? - Answers Increases GABA and
decreases glutamate
A 45-year-old female patient continues to maintain the re-experiencing of her fear of the
opposite sex, which began one year ago when she was raped on her way to a parking garage.
Which two brain regions are involved in the reciprocal relationship resulting in this symptom? -
Answers Amygdala and hippocampus
A 48 year old patient with depression was recently started on 20mg/day fluoxetine to combat
his presenting symptoms of apathy, fatigue, problems concentrating and hypersomnia. The
patient reports that he is feeling much more energized and can see improvements in his
cognition and attention within a day or two of starting fluoxetine. Which properties of fluoxetine
are likely responsible for this positive response? - Answers 5HT2C antagonism
A clinician has decided to administer an alpha 2 antagonist to his patient. Alpha 2 antagonists
have what effect on neurotransmission? - Answers Increase norepinephrine and increase
serotonin
A leading hypothesis of psychosis is: - Answers Hypo-functioning of NMDA receptors
A man maintained on clozapine now presents with depressive symptoms. His clinician is
considering adding fluvoxamine. If Fluvoxamine, a CYP1A2 inhibitor is added to clozapine, a
CYP1A2 substrate, which of the following lab test would you most likely to expect for this
patient? - Answers Increased plasma levels of clozapine
A partial agonist has what effect on neurotransmission? - Answers Net agonism when
neurotransmission is deficient, net antagonism when neurotransmission is excessive
A patient with generalized anxiety disorder is taking a benzodiazepine. What role do
benzodiazepines play in GABA neurotransmission? - Answers Increase it via positive allosteric
modulation
Agents that block reuptake of norepinephrine have what effect on dopamine in the prefrontal
cortex? - Answers Increase its synaptic availability
