NURS 5365 Exam 1 (Clinical Psychology) NEWEST
VERSION 2026WITH COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS \VERIFIED 100%
ALREADY GRADED A+
Brain development - understand brain development patterns,
critical periods
The brainstem develops first in utero and is responsible for
regulating bodily function such as heart rate, breathing,
temperature, sleep, and states of alertness.
The brain develops from the lower brain structure of the
brainstem to the midbrain through the limbic structures; the
cortex is the last area and the most “plastic” area of the brain.
Neuroplasticity refers to areas that are responsive to the
environment and that can change. The lower brain structures
such as the brainstem are more fixed than the higher brain
functions of the cortex, which continue to develop throughout
life.
The interplay of experience and developmental period is
important in that there are certain critical periods, especially
in the first 3 years of life, when specific neural networks are
particularly malleable or plastic (Bergmann, 2020; Schore,
,2019). The brain triples in size up to age 5 years, largely due to
myelinization, and this increases the rate of information
processing. Infancy and adolescence are two critical periods
for the process of making new neurons, or neurogenesis.
The right hemisphere develops first, and a left hemisphere
growth spurt occurs in the middle of the second year of life.
The right hemisphere is more densely connected with
subcortical areas and is associated with the sense of our
bodies, images, perception of emotions, regulation of the
ANS, and unconscious memories, whereas the left is primarily
responsible for language, logic, and conscious problem-solving
Understand memory in relation to psychopathology?
Depending on when they are formed or the neural
connections made, some memories are less plastic or harder
to change than others (Siegel, 2012). Memory is determined
by the stage of development when the neural connection was
made, the area of the brain, and the nature of the memory
itself. For example, structures in the brainstem, midbrain, and
limbic areas are almost fully formed by the time the child is 3
years old. These memories are much harder to change than
,those in some areas of the cortex, which remain plastic
throughout life.
Memory of a specific event is not stored in one particular
place in the brain; it is distributed across neural networks in
different brain areas. The brain takes associations from a
single or specific event and generalizes to other events.
Memory is linked to the emotions surrounding the event from
the moment it occurred and to the specific physiological state
we are in when we have the experience. Emotions are the
result of the physiological changes triggered by the
experience.
The more intense the emotion, either positive or negative, the
more likely the memory will be etched into an enduring
neural template. This is what Rossi (1996) calls state-
dependent learning. That is, state-dependent learning reflects
the biochemical template for the specific emotions at the time
of the experience, which reflects a specific physiological state
we are in at the moment of the event.
, Understand attachment in relation to psychopathology?
Understand the different defense mechanisms and their uses
– Immature Defense Mechanisms?
Immature Defenses
Denial: avoiding the reality of painful reality by ignoring or
refusing to acknowledge reality (e.g., a man with
schizophrenia denies that he is ill and does not take his
medication).
Projection: perceiving and reacting to unacceptable feelings
and impulses as if they were outside the self (e.g., instead of
the person feeling anger, anger is experienced as coming from
others toward the person who is doing the projecting, as
during paranoid delusions).
Acting out: avoiding conscious experience of the emotion
through impulsive action (e.g., instead of feeling sad, a person
gets drunk).
VERSION 2026WITH COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS \VERIFIED 100%
ALREADY GRADED A+
Brain development - understand brain development patterns,
critical periods
The brainstem develops first in utero and is responsible for
regulating bodily function such as heart rate, breathing,
temperature, sleep, and states of alertness.
The brain develops from the lower brain structure of the
brainstem to the midbrain through the limbic structures; the
cortex is the last area and the most “plastic” area of the brain.
Neuroplasticity refers to areas that are responsive to the
environment and that can change. The lower brain structures
such as the brainstem are more fixed than the higher brain
functions of the cortex, which continue to develop throughout
life.
The interplay of experience and developmental period is
important in that there are certain critical periods, especially
in the first 3 years of life, when specific neural networks are
particularly malleable or plastic (Bergmann, 2020; Schore,
,2019). The brain triples in size up to age 5 years, largely due to
myelinization, and this increases the rate of information
processing. Infancy and adolescence are two critical periods
for the process of making new neurons, or neurogenesis.
The right hemisphere develops first, and a left hemisphere
growth spurt occurs in the middle of the second year of life.
The right hemisphere is more densely connected with
subcortical areas and is associated with the sense of our
bodies, images, perception of emotions, regulation of the
ANS, and unconscious memories, whereas the left is primarily
responsible for language, logic, and conscious problem-solving
Understand memory in relation to psychopathology?
Depending on when they are formed or the neural
connections made, some memories are less plastic or harder
to change than others (Siegel, 2012). Memory is determined
by the stage of development when the neural connection was
made, the area of the brain, and the nature of the memory
itself. For example, structures in the brainstem, midbrain, and
limbic areas are almost fully formed by the time the child is 3
years old. These memories are much harder to change than
,those in some areas of the cortex, which remain plastic
throughout life.
Memory of a specific event is not stored in one particular
place in the brain; it is distributed across neural networks in
different brain areas. The brain takes associations from a
single or specific event and generalizes to other events.
Memory is linked to the emotions surrounding the event from
the moment it occurred and to the specific physiological state
we are in when we have the experience. Emotions are the
result of the physiological changes triggered by the
experience.
The more intense the emotion, either positive or negative, the
more likely the memory will be etched into an enduring
neural template. This is what Rossi (1996) calls state-
dependent learning. That is, state-dependent learning reflects
the biochemical template for the specific emotions at the time
of the experience, which reflects a specific physiological state
we are in at the moment of the event.
, Understand attachment in relation to psychopathology?
Understand the different defense mechanisms and their uses
– Immature Defense Mechanisms?
Immature Defenses
Denial: avoiding the reality of painful reality by ignoring or
refusing to acknowledge reality (e.g., a man with
schizophrenia denies that he is ill and does not take his
medication).
Projection: perceiving and reacting to unacceptable feelings
and impulses as if they were outside the self (e.g., instead of
the person feeling anger, anger is experienced as coming from
others toward the person who is doing the projecting, as
during paranoid delusions).
Acting out: avoiding conscious experience of the emotion
through impulsive action (e.g., instead of feeling sad, a person
gets drunk).
