NUR 300 - NERVOUS SYSTEM EXAM QUESTIONS WELL ANSWERED LATEST UPDATE 2026

NUR 300 - NERVOUS SYSTEM EXAM QUESTIONS WELL ANSWERED LATEST UPDATE 2026 Hypotonia - Answers Decreased muscle tone; soft, floppy muscles with little resistance Hypertonia - Answers Increased muscle tone; stiff or rigid muscles Atrophy - Answers Decrease in muscle size due to disuse or disease Hypertrophy - Answers Increase in muscle size due to increased workload Flaccid - Answers Soft muscle with no resistance to passive movement Spastic - Answers Stiff, rigid muscles Contracture - Answers Permanent tightening of muscle, tendon, or ligament Dermatome - Answers Skin area supplied by one spinal nerve Paralysis - Answers Total loss of motor function Paresis - Answers Partial loss of motor function Paresthesia - Answers Pins and needles sensation Dysphasia - Answers Difficulty with language comprehension or expression Dysarthria - Answers Difficulty forming words Lethargic - Answers Drowsy and sluggish state Obtunded - Answers Requires repeated stimulation to awaken Stuporous - Answers Requires vigorous stimulation to arouse Delirious - Answers Confused, anxious, reduced awareness Ataxia - Answers Lack of coordinated movement Tic - Answers Repetitive twitching movement Myoclonus - Answers Sudden muscle jerking Tremor - Answers Involuntary shaking Chorea - Answers Rapid, jerky, purposeless movements Central nervous system (CNS) - Answers Brain and spinal cord Peripheral nervous system (PNS) - Answers Nerves outside CNS including cranial and spinal nerves Afferent fibers - Answers Sensory signals to CNS Efferent fibers - Answers Motor signals from CNS Autonomic nervous system - Answers Controls involuntary functions and homeostasis Cerebral cortex - Answers Outer brain layer responsible for thought, memory, movement Myelin - Answers Insulation that speeds nerve conduction Frontal lobe - Answers Controls personality, behavior, and movement Temporal lobe - Answers Hearing, taste, smell Wernicke area - Answers Language comprehension center Broca area - Answers Motor speech production Stroke - Answers Loss of brain function due to interrupted blood supply Basal ganglia - Answers Coordinates movement and automatic actions Thalamus - Answers Sensory relay station Hypothalamus - Answers Controls temperature, appetite, BP, hormones Cerebellum - Answers Coordinates movement, balance, and muscle tone Brainstem - Answers Controls vital functions; includes midbrain, pons, medulla Spinal cord - Answers Transmits signals between brain and body; controls reflexes Reflex arc - Answers Involuntary rapid response pathway Deep tendon reflex - Answers Stretch reflex like knee jerk Superficial reflex - Answers Skin-based reflex like plantar reflex Cranial nerves - Answers 12 pairs controlling head/neck functions Spinal nerves - Answers 31 pairs supplying body; mixed sensory/motor Anterolateral tract - Answers Transmits pain, temperature, crude touch Posterior columns - Answers Transmit vibration, position, fine touch Dermatome overlap - Answers Adjacent nerves compensate if one is damaged Infant nervous system - Answers Not fully developed; reflex-driven Aging nervous system - Answers Neuron loss, slower conduction, decreased sensation Alzheimer disease - Answers Progressive dementia with memory loss Headache red flag - Answers Worst headache of life → possible stroke Syncope - Answers Temporary loss of consciousness from low blood flow Vertigo - Answers Spinning sensation from vestibular dysfunction Cranial nerve I - Answers Olfactory (smell) Anosmia - Answers Loss of smell Cranial nerve II - Answers Optic (vision) Papilledema - Answers Swelling of optic disc from increased ICP Cranial nerves III, IV, VI - Answers Eye movement and pupil response Ptosis - Answers Drooping eyelid Nystagmus - Answers Involuntary eye movement Cranial nerve V - Answers Facial sensation and chewing Cranial nerve VII - Answers Facial expressions Cranial nerve VIII - Answers Hearing and balance Cranial nerve IX - Answers Taste and swallowing Cranial nerve X - Answers Vagus; swallowing, speech, autonomic Cranial nerve XI - Answers Head rotation and shoulder shrug Cranial nerve XII - Answers Tongue movement Romberg test - Answers Tests balance; positive = loss of balance with eyes closed Dysdiadochokinesia - Answers Inability to perform rapid alternating movements Dysmetria - Answers Overshooting target movement Past-pointing - Answers Deviation to one side