Chapter 18 - Disorders of Aging and Cognition

1. Among the "oldest old," those who are over 95 years old, the MOST common concern is: A) feeling envious of friends in their 80s because they are in better health. B) a fear of dying. C) experiencing thinking that is a lot "fuzzier" than it used to be. D) a fear of losing mental abilities.

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2. Samuel, who is over 65, reports taking six prescription drugs, in addition to regularly taking two over-the-counter drugs. Among the elderly, Samuel is: A) unusual; the average elderly individual takes fewer than half this many drugs. B) unusual; the average elderly individual takes twice this many drugs. C) normal; the average elderly individual takes about this amount of drugs. D) close-to-normal; the average elderly individual takes somewhat more drugs.

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10. A person quite suddenly begins to show specific cognitive impairment and difficulty in speaking, yet other cognitive functions appear normal. MOST likely, that person is experiencing: A) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. B) vascular neurocognitive disorder. C) mercury poisoning. D) Huntington's disease.

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11. Lucille experienced severe mood, personality, and movement changes. She MOST likely has: A) Alzheimer's disease. B) Huntington's disease. C) Korsakoff's syndrome. D) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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12. An individual suffering from a neurological disorder shows no evidence of infection or poisoning, but experiences tremors, rigidity, and unsteadiness. The MOST probable diagnosis is: A) Parkinson's disease. B) Alzheimer's disease. C) Huntington's disease. D) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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13. Tomas has a normal IQ, but demonstrates complete impairment of new learning. He also confabulates when asked to provide information about recent events. Tomas most likely is suffering from: A) Pick's disease. B) Alzheimer's disease. C) Korsakoff's syndrome. D) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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14. Of the following, which is the MOST likely to lead to hospitalization for an Alzheimer's patient? A) a familial cause for the disorder. B) the home caretaker being overwhelmed. C) the patient does not want to live at home. D) the patient's pet interfering with care.

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3. Among the elderly, schizophrenia is: A) more common than among younger individuals, but there are fewer new cases per year. B) less common than among younger individuals, and there are fewer new cases per year. C) more common than among younger individuals, and there are more new cases per year. D) less common than among younger individuals, but there are more new cases per year.

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4. An 80-year-old hospitalized individual is recovering from surgery, but now has gotten an infection. Over the course of a few days, the person shows increasing confusion, and consistently misinterprets what others are trying to communicate. The MOST probable diagnosis for this condition would be: A) dementia. B) delirium. C) schizophrenia. D) substance abuse.

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5. Compared to individuals over 75 living at home with assistance, similar individuals living in nursing homes are almost twice as likely to experience delirium, providing evidence that: A) living in a nursing home causes delirium. B) experiencing delirium is positively correlated with living in a nursing home. C) living at home with assistance prevents the onset of delirium. D) experiencing delirium causes one to be put in a nursing home by one's family.

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6. An individual has just been diagnosed with mild neurocognitive disorder. We know for sure that the person: A) experiences little or no decline in any area of cognitive functioning. B) experiences decline in only one area of cognitive functioning. C) can still function independently. D) can no longer function independently.

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7. The typical pattern of Alzheimer's for the patient is: A) denial, anxiety, withdrawal, dependency. B) denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance, hope. C) denial, projection, regression. D) denial, acceptance, reemergence, reinforcement.

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8. A person with Alzheimer's disease shows decreased brain activity in the diencephalon. This decreased activity should be related to: A) no change in either the function of short-term memory, or in the conversion of short-term memories to long-term memories. B) no change in the function of short-term memory, but problems in the conversion of short- term memories to long-term memories. C) problems in the function of short-term memory, but no change in the conversion of short- term memories to long-term memories. D) problems in both the function of short-term memory, and in the conversion of short-term memories to long-term memories.

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9. Recent research shows that a person developing Alzheimer's disease is related to: A) lower hippocampus activity earlier in life. B) higher hippocampus activity earlier in life. C) abnormalities in corpus callosum development in childhood. D) abnormalities in corpus callosum development in early adulthood.

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