ATI RN
Test Questions on Autonomic Nervous System MCAT Questions
Question 1 of 5
Regarding the visual pathway:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Optic nerve lesions cause unilateral blindness (not homonymous hemianopia, ruling out A), optic chiasm lesions cause bitemporal hemianopia (not unilateral blindness, ruling out B). Visual evoked potentials (C) test the visual pathway’s integrity, while D is vague and incomplete. C is correct.
Question 2 of 5
Postion sense:
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Position sense (proprioception) is tested by joint movement, not tuning fork (A, vibration). It travels via dorsal columns, not spinothalamic (B). Pyramidal lesions (C) affect motor, not sensory. Sensory ataxia (D) from dorsal column loss impairs position sense. D is correct.
Question 3 of 5
Lower motor neuron disease is characterized by:
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Lower motor neuron disease causes wasting (A), weakness, and hyporeflexia, not hypertonia (B), hyperreflexia (C), or clonus (D, upper motor signs). A is correct.
Question 4 of 5
A 75 year old man gradually presented with left sided tremor especially at rest, and poverty of movement and a festinant gait. On clinical examination of this patient the following is true:
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This describes Parkinson’s: rest tremor, bradykinesia, festinant gait, and mask-like face (B, correct). Rigidity (not hypotonia, A), normal power (not severely affected, C), and normal reflexes (not absent, D) are typical. B is correct.
Question 5 of 5
What region of the diencephalon coordinates homeostasis?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The hypothalamus (C) regulates homeostasis (e.g., temperature, hunger, thirst). The thalamus (A) relays sensory/motor signals, epithalamus (B) includes the pineal gland (circadian rhythms), and subthalamus (D) aids motor control. C is correct.