, NSG 552 Psychopharmacology – Wilkes University – Academic
Year 2026/2027 – Examination 1 Comprehensive Examination
with 50 Verified Questions and Correct Answer Rationales | |
RANKED !!
DOMAIN 1: PHARMACOKINETICS, PHARMACODYNAMICS & NEUROTRANSMITTER
SYSTEMS
Question 1
Which of the following best describes pharmacokinetics?
A. The study of what drugs do to the body
B. The study of how the body processes drugs
C. The study of drug chemical composition
D. The study of therapeutic outcomes
CorreCt Answer: B ✓
rAtionAle: Pharmacokinetics describes what the body does to drugs—the time course of
absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). Pharmacodynamics (A) is the study
of what drugs do to the body.
Question 2
Which process is NOT part of pharmacokinetics?
A. Absorption
B. Distribution
C. Pharmacodynamics
D. Excretion
CorreCt Answer: C ✓
rAtionAle: Pharmacokinetics involves absorption, distribution, metabolism, and
excretion (ADME). Pharmacodynamics is a separate discipline that examines drug-receptor
interactions and dose-response relationships.
Question 3
A drug that causes an increase in the number of receptors over time is demonstrating:
, A. Downregulation
B. Upregulation
C. Affinity
D. Tolerance
CorreCt Answer: B ✓
rAtionAle: Upregulation occurs through chronic use of antagonists, causing an increase in
the number of receptors, externalization of receptors, and increased sensitivity of the receptors.
Downregulation (A) occurs with chronic agonist exposure.
Question 4
Which enzyme is the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of serotonin from tryptophan?
A. Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase
B. Monoamine oxidase
C. Tryptophan hydroxylase
D. Catechol-O-methyltransferase
CorreCt Answer: C ✓
rAtionAle: Tryptophan hydroxylase catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan to 5-
hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), the rate-limiting step in serotonin synthesis. Aromatic L-amino acid
decarboxylase (A) converts 5-HTP to serotonin but is not rate-limiting; MAO (B) and COMT (D)
are degradative enzymes.
Question 5
In the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway, overactivity of which receptor subtype is primarily
implicated in the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
A. D1 receptor
B. D2 receptor
C. D3 receptor
D. D4 receptor
CorreCt Answer: B ✓
rAtionAle: The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia posits that hyperactivity of D2
receptors in the mesolimbic pathway mediates positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions).
D1 receptors in the mesocortical pathway are implicated in negative/cognitive symptoms.
Question 6
A patient who has been taking a dopamine antagonist for months abruptly stops the medication
and develops involuntary choreoathetoid movements. Which phenomenon most likely explains
this?
Year 2026/2027 – Examination 1 Comprehensive Examination
with 50 Verified Questions and Correct Answer Rationales | |
RANKED !!
DOMAIN 1: PHARMACOKINETICS, PHARMACODYNAMICS & NEUROTRANSMITTER
SYSTEMS
Question 1
Which of the following best describes pharmacokinetics?
A. The study of what drugs do to the body
B. The study of how the body processes drugs
C. The study of drug chemical composition
D. The study of therapeutic outcomes
CorreCt Answer: B ✓
rAtionAle: Pharmacokinetics describes what the body does to drugs—the time course of
absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). Pharmacodynamics (A) is the study
of what drugs do to the body.
Question 2
Which process is NOT part of pharmacokinetics?
A. Absorption
B. Distribution
C. Pharmacodynamics
D. Excretion
CorreCt Answer: C ✓
rAtionAle: Pharmacokinetics involves absorption, distribution, metabolism, and
excretion (ADME). Pharmacodynamics is a separate discipline that examines drug-receptor
interactions and dose-response relationships.
Question 3
A drug that causes an increase in the number of receptors over time is demonstrating:
, A. Downregulation
B. Upregulation
C. Affinity
D. Tolerance
CorreCt Answer: B ✓
rAtionAle: Upregulation occurs through chronic use of antagonists, causing an increase in
the number of receptors, externalization of receptors, and increased sensitivity of the receptors.
Downregulation (A) occurs with chronic agonist exposure.
Question 4
Which enzyme is the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of serotonin from tryptophan?
A. Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase
B. Monoamine oxidase
C. Tryptophan hydroxylase
D. Catechol-O-methyltransferase
CorreCt Answer: C ✓
rAtionAle: Tryptophan hydroxylase catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan to 5-
hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), the rate-limiting step in serotonin synthesis. Aromatic L-amino acid
decarboxylase (A) converts 5-HTP to serotonin but is not rate-limiting; MAO (B) and COMT (D)
are degradative enzymes.
Question 5
In the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway, overactivity of which receptor subtype is primarily
implicated in the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
A. D1 receptor
B. D2 receptor
C. D3 receptor
D. D4 receptor
CorreCt Answer: B ✓
rAtionAle: The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia posits that hyperactivity of D2
receptors in the mesolimbic pathway mediates positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions).
D1 receptors in the mesocortical pathway are implicated in negative/cognitive symptoms.
Question 6
A patient who has been taking a dopamine antagonist for months abruptly stops the medication
and develops involuntary choreoathetoid movements. Which phenomenon most likely explains
this?
