Neurological Disorders Practice Test Questions

1. Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the hallmarks of:

1. Alzheimer’s disease
2. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
3. Ataxia Telengiectasia
4. Autism

2. Difficulty speaking and understanding speech is termed:

1. Apnea
2. Ataxia
3. Aphasia
4. Dyslexia

3. The most common form of transient facial paralysis is:

1. Alzheimer’s disease
2. Transient ischemic attack
3. Bell’s palsy
4. Erb’s palsy

4. Gradually increasing pain and weakness and numbness in the hand or wrist that radiates up the arm
suggest:

1. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2. Carpal tunnel syndrome
3. Bloch-Sulzberger Syndrome
4. Dystonia

5. All of the following may be associated with Guillain-Barre Syndrome except:

1. Weakening or tingling sensation in the legs

2. Weakness in the arms and upper body
3. Nearly complete paralysis
4. First symptom is altered mental status

6. Which of the following statement about herpes zoster is not true?

1. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus

2. It causes burning, tingling pain and lesions, generally on one side of the body
3. Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of postherpetic neuralgia
4. It is a sexually transmitted disease

7. Diagnostic tests for epilepsy include all of the following except:

1. Simple blood tests

2. EEG
3. Brain scan
4. Wada test

8. Treatment for epilepsy to eliminate or sharply reduce the frequency of seizures may involve all of the
following except:

1. Cognitive-behavioral therapy
 2. Narrow-spectrum and broad-spectrum antiepileptic drugs
3. Vagus-nerve stimulation
4. Surgery

9. The most common inherited neurological disorder is:

1. Bloch-Sulzberger Syndrome
2. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
3. Alper’s disease
4. Asperger Syndrome

10. A severe form of epilepsy that appears during the first year of life is called:

1. Dandy-Walker syndrome
2. Devic’s syndrome
3. Dravet syndrome
4. Fabry disease

11. Lack of ceramide trihexosidase, also known as alpha-galactoside-A causes:

1. Fahr’s syndrome
2. Fabry disease
3. Fisher syndrome
4. Gaucher’s disease

12. Symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia may include all of the following except:

1. Extreme, intermittent facial pain in the jaw or cheek

2. Tingling or numbness on one side of the face
3. Pain triggered by contact with the face or facial movements
4. Inability to swallow

13. All of the following are true about Tourette syndrome except:

1. Drug treatment completely eliminates symptoms

2. It is involuntary and may be a chronic condition
3. Symptoms are generally most severe during adolescence
4. Symptoms are generally detected in children

14. Huntington’s disease is a heritable disorder that involves:

1. Sudden paralysis
2. Chorea, loss of cognitive abilities, and emotional disturbance
3. Uncontrollable swearing and repetitive actions
4. Inability to recognize faces

15. All of the following statements about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are true except:

1. It causes degeneration and death of upper and lower motor neurons

2. Patients lose strength and control of voluntary muscles
3. It impairs cognition and senses
4. It progresses rapidly and is fatal

16. Children with Angelman syndrome generally display all of the following except:

1. Developmental delays and speech impairment

2. Feeding problems
 3. Seizures
4. Loss of hearing and sense of smell

17. All of the following are true about autism except:

1. Affected persons have communication, interpersonal, and behavioral problems

2. Affected persons display obsessive or repetitive behaviors and interests
3. It is the direct result of immunization with thimerosal-containing vaccines
4. Early intervention is associated with improved outcomes

18. Brain and spinal tumors may be treated with any or all of the following modalities except:

1. Surgery
2. Radiation
3. Chemotherapy
4. Positron emission tomography

19. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include all of the following except:

1. Tremors of the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face

2. Stiff limbs
3. Bradykinesia and impaired balance
4. Impaired cognition

20. Narcolepsy is a disorder characterized by:

1. Narcotic abuse
2. Grand mal seizures
3. Reliance on soporific drugs
4. Inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles
Answers and Explanations

1. A

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a specific type of dementia and the most common form of dementia
in persons age 65 and older. It is a progressive neurological disease that produces a decline in
cognitive function and memory and changes in behavior. In addition to the above-mentioned
features of AD, there is a loss of connections between the neurons involved with learning and
memory.

2. C

Aphasia results from damage to the portion of the brain involved in creating and interpreting
language. Aphasia is not a disease. It is a symptom of a neurological disorder or injury, such as
stroke, brain tumor, or head injury. Expressive aphasia is the term for problems communicating
using spoken or written language. Receptive aphasia refers to problems understanding language.

3. C

Bell’s palsy is a temporary paralysis that generally affects one side of the face. It results from
damage or trauma to facial nerves. Bell’s palsy has sudden onset with symptoms that may
include varying degrees of weakness or paralysis, drooping eyelid or corner of the mouth,
drooling, dry eye or mouth, impaired sense of taste, excessive tearing, and facial distortion.

4. B

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve in the wrist. As the
disorder progresses, there is a loss of grip strength and manual dexterity may decrease. Resting
the affected wrist, immobilization, ice packs, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents may
provide relief by reducing swelling and pressure on the median nerve.

5. D

Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease that often follows a respiratory or

gastrointestinal viral illness. It also may occur following surgery or immunization. There is no
cure for Guillain-Barre Syndrome; however, treatment, including plasmapheresis and high-dose
immunoglobulin therapy administered intravenously, aims to reduce the severity of symptoms.

6. D

Herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, occurs along a dermatome and produces
characteristic itching, burning, blisters, and pain. It is caused by a reactivation of the varicella-
zoster virus that causes chickenpox. The severity and duration of an outbreak can be reduced by
prompt treatment with antiviral agents. Older adults who have had chickenpox may be given a
varicella-zoster virus vaccine to significantly reduce the risk of developing shingles.

7. A

The diagnosis of epilepsy may be established using the above-mentioned tests as well as
continuous video EEG monitoring, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI, and
single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which traces cerebral blood flow to
detect abnormalities during and between seizures.
8. A

Because people with epilepsy, especially children and adolescents, may develop behavioral or
emotional difficulties in response to stigmatization, cognitive behavioral therapy may be
considered as adjunctive therapy. It is not, however, a treatment for the seizure disorder, which
for the majority of affected persons is controllable with the use of antiepileptic drugs.

9. B

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease affects an estimated 1 in 2,500 persons in the United States. It is a

hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy that affects the peripheral nerves. As such, symptoms
include weakness of the feet and legs and foot deformities resulting from weak muscles, which in
turn may produce foot drop, tripping, and falls.

10. C

Dravet syndrome, also known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy, presents with frequent
fever-related seizures during the first year of life. Other types of seizures generally occur over
time, and children with Dravet syndrome are often developmentally delayed in language, motor,
and interpersonal skills.

11. B

Persons with Fabry disease cannot efficiently metabolize lipids and as a result, excessive lipid
deposition occurs in the eyes, kidneys, cardiovascular system, and autonomic nervous system.
Symptoms of this heritable disease include burning sensations in the hands, raised skin lesions,
and in boys especially, corneal changes. Persons with Fabry disease are at increased risk of heart
disease and stroke.

12. D

Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by sudden onset of severe pain that lasts less than a minute.
It presents most commonly in persons age 50 and older and among women. The frequency and
severity of attacks recurs and remits, progressively worsening over time. While the disorder may
be debilitating, it is not life threatening.

13. A

Tourette Syndrome is characterized by tics – repetitive, involuntary behaviors, vocalizations and

movements such as eye blinking, grimacing, and shrugging or jerky muscle movements. Tics
also may include self-harm such as repetitively punching oneself as well as coprolalia and
echolalia. Persons with Tourette syndrome frequently suffer behavioral problems such as
hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention disorders, and repetitive behaviors.

14. B

Huntington’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes the degeneration of cells in a pair
of nerve clusters deep in the brain. The disease affects both the body and the mind. HD is caused
by a single dominant gene and affects men and women of all races and ethnic groups. It
generally begins during the third and fourth decades of life; however, there is a form of the
disease that can affect children and adolescents.

15. C

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, causes muscle
weakness and atrophy. As it progresses ALS patients have difficulty moving, swallowing,
speaking, and ultimately, breathing on their own. Many ALS patients require mechanical
ventilation and most die from respiratory failure three to five years from the time initial
symptoms are detected.

16. D

Angelman syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes developmental delays and multiple
neurological problems such as motor difficulties that impair functions. Children with Angelman
syndrome are often hyperactive and suffer from movement, balance, and sleep disorders. They
have characteristic small, flat heads and protruding tongues. Jerky movements are also
characteristic of the disorder.

17. C

Although the etiology of autism remains unknown, it is thought to arise from a combination of
genetic predisposition and environmental triggers. A review of the evidence conducted by the
Institute of Medicine concluded that there is no causal relationship between thimerosal-
containing vaccines and autism.

18. D

Brain and spinal tumors may be benign or malignant and benign tumors may be asymptomatic
depending on their location. Symptoms of brain tumors include the following: headache;
seizures; nausea and vomiting; vision, hearing, and motor problems; and sensory and cognitive
changes. Symptoms of spinal cord tumors include pain, sensory changes, and motor problems.

19. D

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease often begin on one side of the body and over time affect the
entire body. The four characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are tremor, rigidity,
slowness of movement, and postural instability. Tremor is generally most apparent at rest or
when the patient is stressed and improves with deliberate movement.

20. D

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that causes affected individuals to experience irresistible

bouts of sleep, causing them to fall asleep for periods ranging from seconds to minutes
throughout the day. Along with excessive daytime sleepiness, persons with narcolepsy also
suffer from cataplexy, hallucinations at the onset of sleep and/or upon awakening, and transient
complete paralysis at the onset or end of sleep.