The gait exam can be considered part of the coordination exam.
Correct Answer
True
True. The gait exam is often counted as a sixth major section, but it can be grouped with the coordination exam because walking is a coordinated movement that depends on cerebellar control.
Category: Exam Overview
Question 2
Neurons deprived of oxygen do not begin to deteriorate until about 30 minutes have passed.
Correct Answer
False
False. Neurons begin to deteriorate within 1 to 2 minutes without oxygen, and permanent cell death can follow within a few hours, which is why stroke is treated as an emergency.
Category: Stroke and TIA
Question 3
A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a damaged blood vessel bleeds into the brain.
Correct Answer
True
True. In a hemorrhagic stroke, blood leaking from a damaged vessel accumulates and presses on brain tissue. An ischemic stroke, by contrast, is caused by a blocked or narrowed vessel.
Category: Stroke and TIA
Question 4
In most people, language functions are localized mainly to the right cerebral hemisphere.
Correct Answer
False
False. Language is localized to the left hemisphere in most people, so language deficits usually point to damage in the left cerebral cortex.
Category: Language and Speech
Question 5
The hippocampus is thought to help consolidate short-term memories into long-term memories.
Correct Answer
True
True. The hippocampus and nearby medial temporal lobe structures are needed to move information into long-term storage, which is why their removal prevents new episodic memories from forming.
Category: Memory
Question 6
The personality changes of Phineas Gage followed damage to his occipital lobe.
Correct Answer
False
False. The metal rod that pierced his skull damaged Phineas Gage's prefrontal cortex, and his behavior changed because that region governs judgment and personality.
Category: Judgment and Reasoning
Question 7
At the optic chiasm, some optic nerve fibers cross so that each side of the brain processes the opposite visual field.
Correct Answer
True
True. Fibers from the medial half of each retina cross at the optic chiasm, so each cerebral hemisphere receives information about the opposite half of the visual field.
Category: Vision Testing
Question 8
A pituitary tumor pressing on the optic chiasm typically causes loss of central vision while sparing peripheral vision.
Correct Answer
False
False. Compression of the optic chiasm damages the crossing fibers that carry peripheral vision, producing loss of the peripheral fields, often called tunnel vision.
Category: Vision Testing
Question 9
The oculomotor nerve carries parasympathetic fibers that constrict the pupil.
Correct Answer
True
True. Parasympathetic fibers from the Edinger-Westphal nucleus travel in the oculomotor nerve to the ciliary ganglion and then to the iris, constricting the pupil.
Category: Pupillary Reflex
Question 10
The facial nerve supplies parasympathetic fibers to the parotid gland.
Correct Answer
False
False. The glossopharyngeal nerve supplies the parotid gland through the otic ganglion. The facial nerve supplies the submandibular and sublingual glands.
Category: Cranial Nerve Exam
Question 11
In the gag reflex, the glossopharyngeal nerve carries the sensory signal and the vagus nerve carries the motor response.
Correct Answer
True
True. Touching the wall of the pharynx stimulates glossopharyngeal sensory fibers, and the vagus nerve drives the muscle contraction of the gag.
Category: Cranial Nerve Exam
Question 12
During the Weber test, a patient with unilateral conductive hearing loss hears the sound louder in the unaffected ear.
Correct Answer
False
False. With unilateral conductive loss, the tuning fork sounds louder in the affected ear. It sounds quieter in the affected ear with sensorineural loss.
Category: Hearing Tests
Question 13
Contraction of one sternocleidomastoid muscle rotates the head toward the opposite side.
Correct Answer
True
True. One sternocleidomastoid turns the head to the opposite side, while both contracting together flex the neck. The accessory nerve supplies this muscle.
Category: Cranial Nerve Exam
Question 14
Fibers of the dorsal column pathway decussate in the spinal cord at the level where they enter.
Correct Answer
False
False. Dorsal column fibers ascend on the same side as the stimulus and decussate in the medulla. It is the spinothalamic pathway that crosses near the level of entry.
Category: Sensory Exam
Question 15
A hemisection of the spinal cord causes loss of pain and temperature sensation on the side of the body opposite the lesion, below its level.
Correct Answer
True
True. Spinothalamic fibers cross soon after entering the cord, so cutting one half interrupts pain and temperature from the opposite side. Fine touch and proprioception are lost on the same side.
Category: Sensory Exam
Question 16
A positive Babinski sign is a normal finding in a healthy adult.
Correct Answer
False
False. A positive Babinski sign, with the big toe extending and the toes fanning, is normal in infants. In an adult the normal plantar response is toe curling, and a positive sign suggests upper motor neuron damage.
Category: Motor Exam
Question 17
Deep tendon reflexes are elicited by tapping a tendon to briefly stretch its muscle.
Correct Answer
True
True. Tapping a tendon stretches the muscle and triggers a reflex contraction, so these stretch reflexes test the reflex arc and lower motor neuron function.
Category: Motor Exam
Question 18
The corticospinal tract begins in the postcentral gyrus.
Correct Answer
False
False. The corticospinal tract begins in the primary motor cortex of the precentral gyrus. The postcentral gyrus is the primary somatosensory cortex.
Category: Motor Exam
Question 19
The flocculonodular lobe of the cerebellum receives input from the vestibular system.
Correct Answer
True
True. The flocculonodular lobe is the vestibulocerebellum, which uses vestibular input to control balance and eye movements.
Category: Cerebellum
Question 20
The middle cerebellar peduncle is formed by axons arising from nuclei in the medulla.
Correct Answer
False
False. The middle cerebellar peduncle is formed by axons from pontine nuclei, which relay cerebral cortex input to the opposite side of the cerebellum.
Category: Cerebellum