The two parts of the nervous system are the

a) motor and sensory

b) central and peripheral

c) peripheral and autonomic

d) hypothalamus and cerebral

The wife of a 65 year old man tells the nurse that she is concerned because she has noticed a change in her husband's personality and ability to understand.  He also cries and becomes angry very easily.  the nurse recalls that the cerebral lobe responsible for these behaviors is the ____ lobe.

a) frontal

b) parietal

c) occipital

d) temporal

a) frontal

frontal lobe is responsible for personality, behavior, emotions, and intellectual function.  The parietal lobe has areas concerned with sensation; the occipital lobe is responsible for visual reception and the temporal lobe is concerned with hearing, taste, and smell.

Which of these statements concerning areas of the brain is true?

a) the cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions

b) the hypothalamus controls temperature and regulates sleep

c) the basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements

d) motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus

 b) the hypothalamus controls temperature and regulates sleep

hypothalamus - temperature controller, sleep center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and coordinator of autonomic nervous system activity and emotional status.  The cerebellum controls motor coordination, equilibrium, and balance.  The basal ganglia control the autonomic movements of the body.  The motor pathways of the spinal cord synapse in various areas of the spinal cord, not the thalamus

The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the

a) medulla

b) cerebellum

c) spinal cord

d) cerebral cortex

While gathering equipment after an injection, a nurse accidentally received a prick from an improperly capped needle.  To interpret this sensation, which of these areas must be intact?

a) corticospinal tract, medulla, and basal ganglia

b) pyramidal tract, hypothalamus, ans sensory cortex

c) lateral spinothalamic tract, basal ganglia, and sensory cortex

d) anterior spinothalamic tract, basal ganglia, and sensory cortex

A patient with lack of oxygen to his heart will have pain in his chest and possibly the shoulder, arms, or jaw.  The nurse knows that the statement that best explains why this occurs is which of these?

a) There is a problem with the sensory cortex and its ability to discriminate the location

b) The lack of oxygen in his heart has resulted indecreased amount of oxygen to the areas experiencing pain

c) The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in the heart, so the pain is felt elsewhere

d) There is a lesion in the dorsal root that is preventing the sensation from bing transmitted normally

The ability that humans have to perform very skilled movements such as writing is controlled by the

a) basal ganglia

b) corticospinal tract

c) spinothalamic tract

d) extrapyramidal tract

A 30 year old woman tells the nurse that she has been very unsteady and has had difficulty in maintaining her balance.   Which area of the brain would the nurse be concerned about with these findings.

a) thalamus

b) brainstem

c) cerebellum

d) extrapyramidal tract

c) cerebellum

The cerebellum coordinates movement, maintains equilibrium, and helps maintain posture.  The thalamus is the main relay station where sensory pathways of the spinal cord, cerebellum and brainstem for synapses on their way to the cerebral cortex.  The brainstem consitsts of the midbrain, pons, and medulla and has various functions, especially concerning autonomic centers.  The extrapyramidal tract maintains muscle tone for gross automatic movements, such as walking.

Which of these statements about the peripheral nervous system is correct?

a) The cranial nerves enter the prain through the spinal cord.

b) Efferent fibers carry sensory input to the central nervous system through the spinal cord.

c) the peripheral nerves are inside the central nervous system and carry impulses through their motor fibers.

d) the peripheral nerves carry input to the central nervous system by afferent fibers and away by efferent fibers.

A patient has a severed spinal nerve as a result of trauma.  Which of these statements is true in this situation?

a) Because there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, there is no effect if only one is severed.

b) the dermatome served by this nerve will no longer experience any sensation

c)the adjacent spinal nerves will continue to carry sensations for the dermatome served by the severed nerve.

d) this will only affect motor function of the patient because spinal nerves have no sensory component.

A 21 year old patient has a head injury resulting from trauma and is unconscious.  There are no other injuries.  During the assessment what would the nurse expect to find when testing the patient's deep tendon reflexes?

a) reflexes will be normal

b) reflexes cannot be elicited

c) all reflexes would be diminished but present

d) some would be present depending on the area of injury

A mother of a 1 month old infant asks the nurse why it takes so long for infants to learn to roll over.  The nurse knows the reason for this is that:

a) there must be a demyelinating process occuring with her infant

b) myelin is needed to conduct the impulses and the neurons of a newborn are not yet myelinated

c) the cerebral cortex is not fully developed, so control over motor function occurs gradually

d) the spinal cord is controlling the movement because the crebellum is not yet fully developed

During an assessment of an 80 year old patient, the nurse notices the following: inability to identify vibrations at the ankle and to identify position of big toe, slower and more deliberate gait, and slightly impaired tactile sensation.  All other neurologic findings are normal.  The nurse should interpret that these findings indicate:

a) cranial nerve dysfunction

b) lesion in the cerebral cortex

c) normal changes due to aging

d) demylelinization of nerves due to a lesion

A 70 year old woman tells the nurse that every time she gets up in the morning or after she's been sitting she gets "really dizzy" and feels like she is going to fall over.  The nurse's best response would be:

a) Have you been extremely tired lately?

b) You probably just need to drink more liquids.

c) I'll refer you for a complete neurologic examination.

d) You need to get up slowly when you've been lying or sitting.

During the history, a patient tells the nurse that "it feels like the room is spinning around me" .  The nurse would document this as

a) vertigo

b) syncope

c) dizziness

d) seizure activity

a) vertigo

True vertigo is rotational spinning; dizziness is a lightheaded, swimming sensation; syncope is a sudden loss of strength or a temporary loss of consciousness;

When taking the history on a patient with a seizure disorder, the nurse assesses whether the patient has an aura.  Which of these would be the best question for obtaining this information?

a) Does your muscle tone seem tense or limp?

b) After the seizure, do you spend a lot of time sleeping?

c) Do you have any warning signs before your seizure starts?

d) Do you experience any color chnage or incontinence durign the seizure?

While obtaining a history of a 3-month-old infant from the mother, the nurse asks about the infant's ability to suck and grasp the mother's finger.  What is the nurse assessing?

a) reflexes

b) intelligence

c) cranial nerves

d) cerebral cortex functioning

In obtaining a history on a 74 year old patient the nurse notes that he drinks alcohol daily and that he has noticed a tremor in his hands that affects his ability to hold things.  With this information, what should the nurse's response be?

a) Does your family know you are drinking every day?

b) Does the tremor change when you drink alcohol?

c) We'll do some tests to see what  is causing the tremor.

d) You really shouldn't drink so much alcohol; it may be causing your tremor.

A 50 year old woman is in the clinic for weakness in her left arm and leg that she has noticed for the past week.  The nurse should perform which type of neurologic examination?

a) Glasgow Coma Scale

b) Neurologic recheck examination

c) screening neurologic examination

d) complete neurologic examination

During an assessment of the cranial nerves, the nurse finds the following:  asymmetry when the patient smiles or frowns, uneven lifting of eyebrows, sagging of the lower eyelids, and escape of air when the nurse presses against the right puffed cheek.  This would indicate dysfunction of which of these cranial nerves?

a) Motor Component of IV

b) Motor component of VII

c) Motor and sensory component of XI

d) Motor component of X and sensory component of VII

The nurse is testing the function of cranial nerve XI.  Which of these best describes the response the nurse should expect if the nerve is intact?  The patient:

a) demonstrates the ability to hear normal conversation

b) sticks tongue out midline without tremors or deviation

c) follows an object with eyes without nystagmus or strabismus

d) moves the head and shoulders against resistance with equal strength.