MCAT Social and Behavioral Sciences : Depressive Disorders

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for MCAT Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Depressive Disorders

Major depression is classified as which type of disorder?

Possible Answers:

Dissociative

Mood

Impulse control

Anxiety

Psychosomatic

Correct answer:

Mood

Explanation:

Affective disorders are a group of disorders marked by a disturbance of mood. Included in the category is major depression. People with major depression see nothing but sorrow in the future and may not wish to live anymore. Anxiety disorders are characterized by unreasonable anxiety or fear that is inappropriate to the circumstances and disrupts the person's life. Psychosomatic disorder is a real physical disorder that has a psychological cause, such as tension headaches. Dissociative disorder is a type of personality disorder that involves a disassociation of past experiences from present memory. The origin of dissociative disorders is a need to escape extreme trauma, usually some form of abuse. Impulse control disorders are an inability to resist an impulse to perform an action that is harmful to others. Includes in this category are kleptomania and pyromania.

Example Question #31 : Mcat Social And Behavioral

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been used to compare the brains of people who have depression with those who do not have depression. Which is the correct list of areas of the brain that show up differently on MRIs depending on whether a person has, or does not have, depression?

Possible Answers:

Mood, thinking, sleep, movement, appetite 

Speech, mood, thinking, sleep, and appetite

Vision, movement, memory, speech, sleep

Mood, vision, sleep, appetite, and behavior

Mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior

Correct answer:

Mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior

Explanation:

The correct answer is mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior. Other functions, such as speech, memory, and movement do not appear different depending on whether the patient is depressed. 

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