Behavioral Sciences and Psychiatry Flashcards
6 cards from real COMLEX-USA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Behavioral Sciences and Psychiatry flashcards as text
In Kübler-Ross's stages of grief, which stage is characterized by the patient seeking to delay the inevitable through promises?
Answer: Bargaining
The bargaining stage involves attempts to negotiate with a higher power or fate to delay or prevent death, often including 'if only' statements.
A patient repeatedly arrives late to appointments despite genuine attempts to be on time. Which defense mechanism best explains this behavior?
Answer: Passive aggression
Passive aggression involves indirect expression of hostility through behaviors like tardiness, forgetfulness, or inefficiency.
Which neurotransmitter is most implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, based on the dopamine hypothesis?
Answer: Dopamine
The dopamine hypothesis proposes that mesolimbic dopamine hyperactivity causes positive symptoms while mesocortical hypoactivity causes negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test is used to assess dysfunction in which brain region?
Answer: Prefrontal cortex
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test assesses cognitive flexibility and set-shifting, which are executive functions dependent on the prefrontal cortex.
A patient refuses a blood transfusion on religious grounds despite life-threatening blood loss. The ethical principle guiding the physician to respect this decision is:
Answer: Autonomy
Autonomy requires respecting a competent patient's right to make their own medical decisions, even when the physician disagrees with the choice.
Which sleep stage is characterized by sleep spindles and K-complexes on EEG?
Answer: Stage N2 (NREM 2)
Stage N2 NREM sleep features sleep spindles (12–14 Hz bursts) and K-complexes (large biphasic waves) and constitutes the largest portion of total sleep.