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The nurse is caring for a hospitalized patient who has a disorder of the hypothalamus. When developing the patient?s plan of care, in which of the following areas would the nurse anticipate a problem?
- A. Sleep
- B. Constipation
- C. Speech
- D. Motor activity
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The hypothalamus regulates functions like sleep, hunger, and body temperature. A disorder may disrupt sleep patterns. Constipation is less directly related, speech involves cortical areas like Broca?s, and motor activity is primarily controlled by the basal ganglia and motor cortex.
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The nurse is assessing a patient experiencing anxiety and observes increased sweating and gooseflesh. The nurse understands that these are the result of which substance?
- A. Acetylcholine
- B. Norepinephrine
- C. Serotonin
- D. Histamine
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Norepinephrine, part of the sympathetic nervous system, triggers physiological responses like sweating and gooseflesh during anxiety (fight-or-flight response). Acetylcholine is parasympathetic, serotonin regulates mood, and histamine is involved in allergic responses.
A patient has been diagnosed with memory dysfunction associated with Alzheimer?s disease. The nurse determines that damage to the patient?s brain includes deterioration of temporal lobe structures and the nerves of which of the following?
- A. Basal ganglia
- B. Limbic system
- C. Frontal lobe
- D. Hippocampus
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Alzheimer?s disease involves memory dysfunction due to deterioration of the hippocampus (part of the limbic system in the temporal lobe) and other temporal lobe structures. The basal ganglia regulate movement, the limbic system broadly affects emotions, and the frontal lobe handles executive functions.
A nurse is teaching a medication class to a group of psychiatric patients. One of them asks the nurse why he has so much more trouble learning now when he?s in his 60s than he did when he was younger. Which of the following concepts would the nurse integrate into the response?
- A. The extrapyramidal motor system
- B. The amygdala
- C. Neuroplasticity
- D. Psychoneuroimmunology
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Neuroplasticity refers to the brain?s ability to adapt and form new neural connections, which declines with age, impacting learning and memory. The nurse would explain that reduced neuroplasticity in older age makes learning more challenging. The extrapyramidal motor system affects movement, the amygdala regulates emotions, and psychoneuroimmunology involves immune-brain interactions, none of which directly address learning difficulties.
A nursing instructor asks a student to explain the influence of chronobiology on depression. Which of the following would the student include when responding?
- A. The exact location of genes leads to identifying the gene responsible for causing depression.
- B. A break in the corpus callosum blocks information exchange between the right and left hemispheres.
- C. Damage to the posterior areas of the parietal lobe leads to altered discriminative sensory function.
- D. Internal and external triggers can elicit biologic rhythm changes indicative of clinical depression.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Chronobiology studies biological rhythms, such as circadian rhythms, which influence mood disorders like depression. Internal (e.g., hormonal changes) and external (e.g., light exposure) triggers can disrupt these rhythms, contributing to depressive symptoms. The other options relate to genetics, brain connectivity, or sensory function, not chronobiology.
When describing the various neurotransmitters, which of the following would the nurse identify as the primary cholinergic neurotransmitter?
- A. Dopamine
- B. Acetylcholine
- C. Norepinephrine
- D. Serotonin
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Acetylcholine is the primary cholinergic neurotransmitter, acting in the parasympathetic nervous system and at neuromuscular junctions. Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are monoamine neurotransmitters, not cholinergic.