CERTIFIED STROKE REHABILITATION SPECIALIST (CSRS
2025) MOST TESTED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GRADED A+ WITH RATIONALES
Which type of stroke accounts for approximately 87% of strokes?
A. Hemorrhagic
B. Ischemic
C. Subarachnoid hemorrhage
D. Lacunar only
Rationale: About 87% of strokes are ischemic (blockage of blood flow).
Which ischemic stroke subtype is most associated with occurring during sleep and having
progressive onset?
A. Embolic
B. Thrombotic
C. Lacunar
D. Hemorrhagic
Rationale: Thrombotic strokes often develop gradually and frequently occur during sleep.
Embolic strokes are characterized by which typical clinical picture?
A. Slow, progressive deficits
B. Sudden, immediate deficits (often while awake)
C. Pure sensory loss only
D. Occurring mainly during sleep
Rationale: Embolic strokes commonly cause sudden deficits because a clot travels and occludes
a cerebral vessel.
Lacunar strokes most often involve:
A. Large cortical territories
B. Hemorrhage into ventricles
C. Small deep infarcts often causing pure motor or sensory syndromes
D. Primary visual loss only
Rationale: Lacunar infarcts are small, deep, and commonly produce pure motor or sensory
deficits.
Which hemorrhagic stroke type is most closely associated with chronic hypertension?
A. Subarachnoid hemorrhage
B. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)
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C. Epidural hemorrhage
D. Lacunar infarct
Rationale: Chronic hypertension is the major risk factor for intracerebral hemorrhage.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) most commonly results from:
A. Hypertensive small-vessel rupture
B. Lacunar disease
C. Rupture of an aneurysm or vascular malformation
D. Venous thrombosis
Rationale: SAH commonly follows rupture of saccular aneurysms or AVMs, often during
exertion.
A left hemisphere stroke most classically produces which deficits?
A. Left neglect and impulsivity
B. Language deficits (aphasia) and right hemiplegia
C. Pure visual field loss only
D. Ipsilateral sensory loss
Rationale: The dominant (usually left) hemisphere mediates language; left stroke → right-sided
motor/language deficits.
Which behavioral pattern is typical after a left-hemisphere stroke?
A. Overconfident, impulsive
B. Slow, cautious, anxious with preserved attention span
C. Severe neglect of contralateral side
D. Flat affect and denial of deficit
Rationale: Left-hemisphere lesions commonly produce cautious/pessimistic behavior and slow
information processing.
A right-hemisphere stroke is most likely to cause:
A. Expressive aphasia
B. Visual-spatial problems and left neglect
C. Dysarthria only
D. Global aphasia in all cases
Rationale: Right-hemisphere lesions typically disrupt spatial processing, body schema, and
cause neglect.
Typical behavioral signs after a right-hemisphere stroke include:
A. Slow, fearful behavior
B. Excessive worry about deficits
C. Impulsivity, overestimation of abilities, anosognosia
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D. Fluent aphasia
Rationale: Right-sided lesions often produce anosognosia and impulsive risk-taking behavior.
Which lobe is primarily responsible for voluntary movement, judgment, and personality?
A. Parietal
B. Temporal
C. Frontal
D. Occipital
Rationale: Frontal lobe contains motor cortex and prefrontal areas for executive functions.
The primary motor cortex is located on the:
A. Postcentral gyrus
B. Temporal pole
C. Precentral gyrus
D. Occipital lobe
Rationale: The precentral gyrus houses the primary motor cortex (motor homunculus).
A lesion of the premotor cortex most commonly results in:
A. Broca's aphasia
B. Visual agnosia
C. Unilateral neglect / impaired body-part ownership (if large)
D. Pure sensory loss
Rationale: Premotor cortex contributes to trunk and proximal limb movement planning and
body schema.
Dysfunction of the supplementary motor area (SMA) primarily causes:
A. Sensory loss
B. Apraxia and deficits in motor planning
C. Aphasia
D. Vision loss
Rationale: SMA is involved in motor planning and sequencing; lesions can cause apraxia.
Broca’s area injury leads to:
A. Fluent, meaningless speech
B. Expressive (nonfluent) aphasia—difficulty producing speech
C. Pure alexia only
D. Loss of smell
Rationale: Broca’s area controls speech production—lesion causes expressive aphasia.
Wernicke’s area lesion causes:
A. Inability to move the face
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B. Receptive aphasia—impaired language comprehension
C. Contralateral neglect
D. Motor weakness only
Rationale: Wernicke’s area is critical for language comprehension; damage causes fluent but
nonsensical speech.
The parietal lobe is primarily involved with:
A. Vision only
B. Sensation processing and spatial awareness
C. Memory consolidation
D. Heart rate control
Rationale: Parietal cortex integrates somatosensory and spatial information.
The primary somatosensory cortex is located on the:
A. Precentral gyrus
B. Postcentral gyrus
C. Superior temporal gyrus
D. Occipital pole
Rationale: The postcentral gyrus contains the somatosensory (sensory homunculus) cortex.
Lesion of the angular gyrus (parietotemporal association cortex) most often impairs:
A. Motor strength only
B. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and higher perceptual functions
C. Pain perception only
D. Smell recognition
Rationale: The angular gyrus integrates multimodal information for reading/writing/math.
The primary visual cortex is located in the:
A. Temporal lobe
B. Parietal lobe
C. Occipital lobe
D. Frontal lobe
Rationale: Occipital lobe houses the primary visual cortex; lesions cause visual field defects.
A patient with contralateral homonymous hemianopia most likely has damage to the:
A. Frontal eye fields
B. Superior temporal gyrus
C. Occipital lobe / PCA territory
D. Cerebellum
Rationale: PCA/occipital infarcts typically produce homonymous hemianopias.