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Introduction to Psychopharmacology: A Practical Clinician's Guide - Test
by John Preston, Psy.D., ABPP and Li Liang, MD

Course content © copyright 2004-2024 by John Preston, Psy.D., ABPP. All rights reserved.

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1. It is legal and ethical for non-medical therapists to do all EXCEPT which one of the following? Help
Instruct patients to increase the dose of their medication.
 Explain all options for treatment, given the diagnosis (however, should only mention empirically validated treatments).
 Talk about side effects.
 Mention the options of over-the-counter medications (e.g. St. John's Wort) if there are published studies demonstrating efficacy.
2. The dose of a drug needed to produce a clinical response is most strongly influenced by: Help
The person's body weight.
 The severity of the disorder.
 The rate of liver metabolism.
 Whether the condition is chronic or acute.
3. Hypo-metabolizers are most likely to encounter: Help
Longer periods of time before there is symptomatic improvement.
 Increased drug-drug interactions.
 Low blood levels of medications on standard doses.
 Significant side effects when given standard doses.
4. In treatment outcome studies with FDA approved antidepressants for major depressive disorder, the general finding is: Help
50% of patients will achieve remission if they stay in the treatment.
 Complete remission occurring in less than 15% of subjects.
 35% of subjects are partial responders.
 25% reach full remission.
5. A dysregulation of _______ (neurotransmitter) in the central nervous system appears to be strongly associated with the following behaviors/symptoms: irritability, impulsivity and suicidal ideations. Help
Serotonin
 Cortisol
 BDNF
 Dopamine
6. Hypercortisolemia is associated with all of the following except: Help
Elevations in blood glucose.
 Hippocampal atrophy.
 Neurologic damage to fetuses.
 Increase in carbohydrate craving.
7. BDNF is activated by all of the following except: Help
Tranquilizers.
 Lithium.
 Antidepressants.
 Exercise.
8. Atypical depressive symptoms are commonly associated with: Help
Increased suicidality.
 Bipolar depression.
 Weight loss.
 Psychotic depressive symptoms.
9. Antidepressants can cause "activation", which refers to: Help
Increased sense of aliveness and productive energy.
 Igniting of hypomania or mania.
 Increased reuptake of neurotransmitters.
 An acute antidepressant side effect characterized by anxiety and agitation.
10. In group studies of very severely depressed patients, which of the following medications is NOT recommended as a first-line of treatment? Help
Effexor
 Prozac
 Lexapro
 Paxil
11. A patient with major depressive disorder has been treated with high doses of an SSRI for 8 weeks and shown no signs of improvement. Assuming that the person is adherent with treatment, which of the following would be the highest yield "next step" strategy? Help
Augment with an atypical antipsychotic
 Augment with an antidepressant from a different class of antidepressants
 Continue to treat on the same dose of medications for an additional 4 weeks
 Switch to a different class of antidepressants
12. Which of the following statements is true? Help
For the majority of young people, treatment with antidepressants is associated with increased suicidality.
 In addition to increased suicide risks with antidepressants, these medications can be habit-forming.
 The use of antidepressants in treating severe depression has been shown to decrease suicide rates.
 Antidepressants should generally be avoided in patients under the age of 13.
13. Rapid cycling bipolar illness is: Help
A chronic condition and non-responsive to treatment.
 Seen in about 7% of people with bipolar illness over their lifetime.
 Diagnosed following 4 mood episodes within the last 12 months.
 A marker for possible schizoaffective disorder.
14. Pre-pubertal bipolar disorder: Help
Is accepted worldwide as a subtype of bipolar disorder.
 Has increased significantly during the past 20 years due to accurate assessment and diagnosis.
 Was first proposed in Europe.
 None of the above
15. The most common reason for patients to discontinue the mood stabilizers (against medical advice) is: Help
Problems tolerating side effects.
 Patients miss the good feelings associated with mania.
 Cost of medications.
 1 and 3 above.
16. Which of the following medication(s) is/are at highest risk for causing switching in treating bipolar depression? Help
Calcium channel blockers
 Tranquilizers
 Topamax
 Antidepressants
17. Which of the following may cause mood switching? Help
Bright light exposure
 St. John's Wort
 SSRIs
 All of the above
18. Which of the following medications needs to avoided in the treatment of acute mania? Help
Haldol
 Xanax
 Ativan
 Zyprexa
19. The most appropriate use of benzodiazepines in the treatment of panic disorder is: Help
Continuous 24 hour a day dosing in short term duration.
 Use on an as needed basis (e.g. at the first sign of a panic attack), to avoid developing tolerance to the drug.
 Use at moderate to high doses combined with exposure therapy.
 Use only during the day time since panic attacks do not occur during sleep.
20. Typically in the treatment of OCD with SSRIs: Help
Patients respond to low to moderate doses.
 Patients generally reach full symptomatic improvement within 4 months and hit a plateau.
 Patients gradually continue to improve during the first 12 months of treatment.
 If there is symptomatic improvement, keep the patient on medications for 12 months and then gradually discontinue...most will continue to be symptom free.
21. Drinking more than 250mg a day of caffeine is likely to interfere with: Help
REM sleep.
 Slow wave deep sleep.
 Early awakening.
 Dreaming.
22. Which of the following is a true statement for ADHD? Help
Hyperactivity, as a symptom, remains well into adult life for two-thirds of those with ADHD.
 One-third of children with ADHD outgrow the disorder by early adulthood.
 Unmedicated ADHD patients show abnormal maturation of white matter in the brain, while medicated subjects do not.
 A significant risk in the use of stimulants in treating ADHD is stimulant abuse (or addiction).
23. Which of the following neurotransmitters is most likely implicated in the pathophysiology of ADHD? Help
Dopamine
 Serotonin
 Norepinephrine
 Glutamate
24. The first FDA approved drug for postpartum depression, Brexanolone: Help
Has been studied long term and provides relief to 60% of women who take it.
 Requires an intravenous infusion over 60 hours in the hospital.
 Is reasonably inexpensive and widely available.
 Is definitively known to have actions on the GABA system.

 

 

  
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