Amnestic Disorders and Other Neurocognitive Disorders MCQs

Reactivity of mood is the term used to describe the fluctuations in mood that occur in parallel with changes to one's environment Mood will improve on going on holiday or when the stressful situation alters An example, when difficulties with a workmate resolve when that person resigns, but recur when the subject is re-exposed to the stressful situation Reference : Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, third edition, Chapter 5 Disorders of emotion, Page no. 74

A distinct quality of depressed mood characterized by profound despondency, despair, and/or moroseness or by ; so-called empty mood is a characteristic feature of Melancholic depression Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, Eleventh edition, Chapter 8, Mood Disorders, Page 362

Studies of the course and prognosis of post stroke depression indicate that the high-risk period can last up to 2 years. The presence of depression is associated with an eightfold increase in mortality risk. Reference : Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, Eleventh Edition, Chapter 21st, Neurocognitive Disorders, Page no. 738.

Nightmares are frightening or terrifying dreams , also called dream anxiety attacks, they produce sympathetic activation and ultimately awaken the dreamer. Nightmares occur in REM sleep and usually evolve from a long, complicated dream that becomes increasingly frightening. Nightmares have a strong association with traumatic events. Sympathetic over activity → sweating, palpitations, tachypnoea is seen in nightmares. Usually, patients can recollect the contents of the frightening dreams , which is how it can be differentiated from parasomnias of NREM/sleep like night terrors. Hypnagogic hallucinations are visual/auditory perceptions occurring while going to sleep. Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, Eleventh edition, Chapter 16, Normal Sleep and Sleep-wake Disorders, Page no. 556.

Pathological laughter/ crying is defined as laughing and/or crying occurring spontaneously or after some seemingly minor provocation. Indicative of underlying depression. It is seen in post-stroke period. Other names: Emotional incontinence, emotional lability, pseudobulbar effect, pathological emotionalism, involuntary emotional expression disorder. Reference: Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 10 th edition, Chapter 2.2 Neuropsychiatric aspects of cerebrovascular disorders, Page number 1283 .

Completion illusion: It depends on inattention such as misreading words in newspapers or missing misprints because we read the word as if it were complete Alternatively, if we see faded letters, we may misread the word on the basis of our previous experience , our interests, etc. For example, to the person with an interest in reading, the word '-ook' might be misread as 'book' even though the faded letter was an 'l' Reference: Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, third edition, Chapter 3 Disorders of Perception, Page no. 26