N170 Final

Mental Disorders & Key Symptoms

Q: What are the symptoms of a manic episode?
A: Restless activity, excitement, excessive self-confidence, rambling speech, and loss of inhibitions.

Q: What is craving?
A: An insistent search for something.

Q: What is empathy?
A: The ability to understand and share another person’s emotions.

Q: What is a delusion?
A: An unjustifiable belief that is contrary to fact.

Q: What is amnesia?
A: The loss of memory.

Q: What is schizophrenia, and what are its diagnostic criteria?
A: A disorder where an individual has deteriorated in daily function for at least 6 months and presents symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior, or negative symptoms.

Q: What is brain death?
A: A condition with no sign of brain activity and no response to any stimulus.

Q: What is narcolepsy?
A: A condition characterized by frequent periods of sleepiness during the day.

Q: What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
A: Behaviors that are present but should not be, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Q: What are hallucinations?
A: False sensory experiences.

Schizophrenia & Cognitive Impairments

Q: If a patient has a delusional belief, can they still hold onto it even if presented with contradicting evidence?
A: Yes, delusions persist despite contrary evidence.

Q: What is a common cognitive symptom of schizophrenia?
A: Impaired working memory and difficulty with attention.

Q: Why might an individual not qualify for a schizophrenia diagnosis?
A: Their symptoms could be due to substance abuse or brain damage.

Q: What brain structure shows reduced volume in schizophrenia?
A: White matter.

Q: How does the textbook explain why schizophrenia symptoms appear later in life?
A: Brain abnormalities exist early, but symptoms manifest in adolescence or adulthood when the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is required for function.

Memory & Neurological Disorders

Q: What is the difference between anterograde and retrograde amnesia?
A:

• Anterograde amnesia: Inability to form new memories after brain damage.

• Retrograde amnesia: Loss of memories from before brain damage.

Q: What is the general function of working memory?
A: It temporarily holds and processes information needed for complex tasks like learning and reasoning.

Q: What is Broca’s aphasia, and what difficulty does it cause?
A: A language disorder where individuals have difficulty forming sentences despite understanding speech.

Q: What does psychoneuroimmunology study?
A: The interaction between psychological factors, the nervous system, and the immune system.

Visual System & Circadian Rhythms

Q: What happens to a person’s circadian rhythm if they work 6-hour shifts on a submarine?
A: Their circadian rhythm becomes disrupted due to lack of natural light cues.

Q: What happens in jet lag?
A: The circadian rhythm is misaligned with the local time, leading to fatigue and difficulty adjusting.

Q: What happens when light from the right visual field strikes the retina?
A: It strikes the left side of each retina and is processed in the left hemisphere (and vice versa for the left visual field).

Brain Structures & Emotional Processing

Q: What area of the brain inhibits or modifies the amygdala’s response to a threat?
A: The prefrontal cortex.

Q: What area of the brain is key for learning fears?
A: The amygdala.

Q: Would the startle response be stronger in someone already anxious?
A: Yes.

Q: If a person has activity in the left hemisphere, especially in the frontal and temporal lobes, what is it associated with?
A: Positive emotions and approach behaviors.

Q: Is the limbic system critical for emotions?
A: Yes, it is involved in emotional processing.

Immune System & Stress

Q: What type of leukocyte destroys tumor cells and virus-infected cells?
A: Natural killer (NK) cells.

Q: Do natural killer cells only attack specific antigens?
A: No, they attack all foreign intruders.

Q: Why do nearly all infections produce fever, sleepiness, and loss of energy?
A: The immune system sends prostaglandins to the brain, triggering these symptoms.

Q: How does stress affect the immune system?
A:

• Brief stress activates the immune system.

• Prolonged stress weakens the immune system.

Q: How does the immune system signal the brain about illness?
A: By releasing cytokines, which stimulate the vagus nerve and trigger the release of prostaglandins.

Bipolar Disorder & Seasonal Affective Disorder

Q: How do bipolar I and bipolar II differ?
A:

• Bipolar I: Full manic episodes.

• Bipolar II: Hypomanic episodes (less severe than full mania).

Q: Is bright light therapy a common treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?
A: Yes.

Clinical Vignettes

Q: A patient has hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior for 8 months. What is the diagnosis?
A: Schizophrenia (unless due to substance abuse).

Q: A patient witnessed a violent crime 8 months ago, has nightmares, insomnia, isolation, and difficulty concentrating. What is the likely diagnosis?
A: PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Q: A patient believes inanimate objects are talking to them. What is the diagnosis?
A: Schizophrenia (though substance abuse must be ruled out).

Pharmacology & Neurotransmitters

Q: What type of drug has high affinity and high efficacy, making it a strong agonist?
A: A drug that strongly activates receptors.

Q: What is the difference between an agonist and an antagonist?
A:

• Agonist: Mimics or enhances the effects of a neurotransmitter.

• Antagonist: Blocks or reduces the effects of a neurotransmitter.

Final Review

Q: What are the two subdivisions of the autonomic nervous system?
A: Sympathetic and parasympathetic.

Q: Which autonomic branch prepares the body for emergency action?
A: Sympathetic nervous system.

Q: How does stress response progress over time?
A:

1. Immediate activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

2. Slower but longer-lasting activation of the HPA axis.

Q: What is the reactivation-synthesis hypothesis of dreams?
A: Dreams result from random brain activity, and the brain attempts to create a story from it.