Examining Issues in Psychopharmacology

Psychopharmacology

Non-medical psychotherapists, such as Marriage and Family Therapists, should learn about psychopharmacology in order to:

Collaborate with prescribers regarding a patient's medication

For a patient with a borderline or dependent personality, a therapist not recommending medication would likely be seen as:

Conservative

Jim is disturbed by his psychiatrist's prescription of psychotropic medication, believing that the psychiatrist is attempting to control him and remove his autonomy. This most likely reflects:

Paranoid personality traits

Short, branched structures projecting from a nerve cell body are known as:

Dendrites

Messenger molecules are secreted by neurons and affect the functioning of adjacent neurons. Messenger molecules are also called:

Neurotransmitters

The space between the terminal button and receptors is the:

Synapse

Which statement most accurately describes nerve cell receptors?

They increase in number until age 50, then slowly die off

8) The area of the brain most closely associated with emotion is the:

Limbic system

9) Higher cognitive function takes place in which area of the brain?

Cortex

10) Increased heart rate, dry mouth, and increased blood pressure are reactions associated with the:

Sympathetic nervous system

11) Pharmacodynamics can be thought of as ___, whereas Pharmacokinetics can be thought of as:

Drug's effect on the body; Body's effect on the drug

12) Another word for biotransformation is:

Absorption

13) The organ primarily responsible for excretion is the:

Kidney

14) Two drugs competing for the same enzyme system is an example of drug:

Interaction

15) When a molecule binds to a receptor, occupying it but not activating it, this is an example of a (n) ___ effect.

Antagonist

16) According to research, in what percent of cases would you expect non-psychiatric medical disorders to be the primary cause of psychiatric symptoms?

9%-17%

17) Which of the following findings would increase your suspicion that a patient's psychiatric symptoms have a non-psychiatric medical origin?

Acute onset with no identifiable psychosocial stressors

18) Fatigue, appetite disturbance, and decreased sex drive are commonly referred to as:

Vegetative symptoms of depression

19) Psychotic depression is most effectively treated with:

Combined antipsychotic/antidepressant medication

20) Residents of Alaska often suffer from "cabin fever," a form of depression that strikes during the winter when there is little daylight. The clinical name for this is:

Claustrophobia

21) The Monoamine Hypothesis of depression holds that depression is caused by:

Depleted serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine

22) Compared to Bipolar II disorder, Bipolar I tends to have:

Manic and depressive episodes which are more pronounced

23) Which of the following drugs is not likely to induce mania?

Aspirin

24) Kindling Theory, applied to Bipolar Disorder, helps to explain:

The impact of psychosocial factors

25) Benzodiazepines would be contraindicated for patients with a history of:

Sleep disorder

26) Effective treatments for OCD include:

Psychoanalysis, SSRIs

27) A prominent theory proposes that schizophrenia is caused by:

Insufficient dopamine

28) Flashbacks, nightmares, and exaggerated startle response are symptoms of:

PTSD

29) For a depressed patient with a history of sexual dysfunction, you would most likely recommend:

Bupropion

30) A patient taking an MAOI should avoid eating:

Sauerkraut

31) A patient has been on an antidepressant medication for one week and doesn't notice any effect. You would recommend that he:

Ask his doctor to discontinue the medication since his depression is probably not responsive to medication

32) St. John's Wort is an herb available over-the-counter. Research has found that it is:

Effective for mild-to-moderate depression

33) In addition to Lithium, other medications found effective for Bipolar Disorder are in the class of:

Antidepressants

34) Beta blockers impact which symptom of anxiety?

Increased heart rate

35) After several years of treatment with antipsychotic medication, a patient begins demonstrating involuntary movements. This is most likely:

Tardive dyskinesia

36) An advantage of the atypical antipsychotics over older generation antipsychotics, is that they better impact:

Negative psychotic symptoms

37) Which of the following is true of herbal products?

There are few interactions between herbal products and prescription medication

38) Medication doses for pre-pubertal children tend to be:

Based on the child's weight as a percentage of adult weight

39) ADHD is typically treated with:

Stimulants

40) The "inattentive" subtype of ADHD generally:

Responds to slow-release medication

41) A characteristic which differentiates childhood-onset bipolar disorder from ADHD is:

Impulsivity

42) When diagnosing Major Depression in children, as opposed to adults, one more commonly sees:

Irritability and anhedonic mood

43) A drug's therapeutic index compares:

Effective dose to toxic dose

44) EPS side effects are often managed by the addition of Serotonin blockers

45) A medication half-life is the:

Amount of time required for the serum concentration to be reduced by 50%

46) A medication has reached "steady state" when:

Symptoms go into remission

47) What statement best describes the current application of ECT?

It is used for severe, treatment-refractory depression

48) Prescribers routinely order and review lab tests prior to starting lithium. This is done primarily:

To see if a lithium deficiency is present

49) Current practice is to place a patient on lifelong maintenance antidepressants after:

Antidepressants should always be discontinued after 1-2 years

50) Which of the following statements best describes the ethical and effective use of psychotropic medication?

The most effective treatment applies medical and/or psychological interventions as needed for a particular client

51) The body's main inhibitory neurotransmitter/neuromodulator is:

GABA

52) Which of the following are found in the soma?

The axon and the dendrites

53) Which of these is the correct progression of events?

Action potential, exocytosis, re-uptake

54) The physical space between neurons is called:

The synapse

55) GABA is the body's main inhibitory neurotransmitter substance, and ___ is the excitatory substance.

Glutamate

56) A non-medical psychotherapist says that she has focused her training exclusively on psychotherapeutic intervention. She says that she has intentionally not learned about psychopharmacology so that she can avoid liability for medication issues. You would respond to her by suggesting:

That her stance is only reasonable if she discloses to her clients that she has no knowledge of psychopharmacology

57) Excessive amounts of ___ may be implicated in psychosis.

Dopamine

58) When the client focuses on medication issues throughout the therapeutic session, to the exclusion of focus on inner thoughts and feelings, this may be seen as a form of therapeutic:

Resistance

59) Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are all types of:

Neurotransmitters

60) The terminal bouton in a neuron is a:

Pre-synaptic structure

61) Patients with an obsessive-compulsive personality style might be expected to respond to a prescription for psychotropic medication in the following way:

Any of the above

62) Tiny containers for neurotransmitters are found in the terminal bouton and protect the neurotransmitters from enzymes. These containers are called:

Vesicles

63) Second Messengers are:

Intracellular signaling molecules that trigger physiological changes

64) Heart rate, breathing and blood pressure are regulated by the:

Brain stem

65) The part of the brain associated with procedural learning, such as riding a bicycle, is the:

Cerebellum

66) Digestion, decreased heart rate, and muscle relaxation is associated with the:

Parasympathetic nervous system

67) The study of how a patient's body absorbs, distributes, modifies and excretes a drug is known as:

Pharmacokinetics

68) Which of the following diseases/disorders has been known to cause or worsen depression?

All of the above

69) A person's body using enzymes to chemically convert medication to other substances is an example of:

Metabolism

70) The kidney is an organ of:

Excretion

71) Which of the following describes a drug interaction?

Any of the above

72) A medication that binds to a serotonin receptor and imitates the effect of serotonin is a (n)

Agonist

73) You are working with a patient with OCD. Which of the following medications is not considered an anti-obsessive?

Wellbutrin

74) "Serotonin syndrome" includes all of the following symptoms except:

Slow heart rate

75) A typical daily dose of Prozac or Paxil is:

20-40 mg.

76) Which of the following benzodiazepines is often used for its mood-stabilizing properties?

All of the above

77) A patient presents with high levels of anxiety of recent origin. Your first diagnostic step would be to:

Interview significant family members to develop a full picture of the client

78) Typical two-drug combinations for Bipolar Illness include:

All of the above

79) Which of the following is approved primarily for Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Buspar

80) In treating Social Anxiety Disorder, the best results are achieved with:

SSRIs or MAOIs

81) For spot treating specific social phobias like public speaking, one may consider:

Klonopin

82) All of the following EXCEPT ___ are typically used to treat PTSD symptoms.

Stimulants