BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE NBME
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026 FULL
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ Split brain.
Answer: a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brains two
hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them.
◍ Peripheral nervous system.
Answer: the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord.
◍ Crude mortality rate.
Answer: Death/Population
◍ Causes of death patterns in minority groups compared with whites: african
american, latinos, native americans, Asians.
Answer: Categories include: cancer, CV, drug abuse, diabetes, infant
mortality, violence, homicide, suicide, unintentional injury, AIDSAfrican
Americans:- increased risks in ALL categories- EXCEPT: suicide*Latinos:-
increased risk in violence related- EXCEPT: cancer, CV, infant mortality,
suicideNative Americans:- increased risk in violence and death - EXCEPT:
cancer, CV, AIDSAsians:- no increased risk- SAFER
◍ Cross-over study.
Answer: for ethical reasons, no group involved can remain untreated. All
subjects receive intervention, but at different times.Makes recruitment of
subjects easier.Cross over date and group allocations are both double-blind
selectionsExample: AZT trials- assume double-blind design. - Group A
receives AZT for 3 months- Group B is control- For second 3 months,
Group B receives AZT- For second 3 months, Group A is controlMultiple
comparisons: can compare group A on and off the drug, etc.
,◍ Systematic error imposes on what aspect of the study?.
Answer: bad and biases resultsa threat to validity
◍ What are the categories in which Asians have no increased risk compared to
whites in causes of death?.
Answer: ALLASIANS ARE SAFER
◍ MRI.
Answer: is a brain imaging technique that detects magnetic changes in the
brain's blood flow patterns.
◍ A patient survives a massive MI and is finally discharged, he asks 'doc,
when can I have sex with my wife again', what are your best answers? Then
he asks, what positions can we do?.
Answer: 1. Whenever you feel like you can2. Whenever you pass a stress
test (walking flights of stairs)Best position is to have the person with MI flat
on their back and the partner on top.note: don't give time frame answers
because patients tend to take us seriously
◍ correlation analysis.
Answer: r, ranges from -1.0 to +1.0A positive value means that 2 variables
go together in the same direction- MCAT scores have a positive correlation
with medical school gradesA negative value means that the presence of one
variable is associated with the absence of another variable- negative
correlation between age and quickness o f reflexes - mutually non-exclusive
The further from -, the stronger the relationship (r=0)zero correlation means
that 2 variables have no linear relation to one another - height and success in
schoolgraphing correlations using scatterplots - scatterplot will show points
that approximate a line- positive slope, negative slope
◍ Cancer rates: female lung cancer rates.
Answer: Female lung cancer rates are increasing:- 5.1 per 100,000 in 1965-
more than 30 per 100,000 in 2005- #1 cause of cancer mortality in women
◍ Relative risk to estimate risk association.
Answer: Cohort studies
,◍ What are the top 3 causes of death in the age group 1~4 years old?.
Answer: 1: Unintended injuries2: Congenital anomalies3: Neoplasia
◍ Adolescent suicide (15-19): lifetime prevalence of suicide ideation? Had a
friend who committed suicide? Ethnic group with highest suicide rate?.
Answer: ideation: 54%friend who committed suicide: 60%Ethnic group
(15-19) with highest suicide rate: Native Americans(note: this age group has
the highest suicide rate for all ages of Native Americans)
◍ Mortality rate.
Answer: rate of death in a population at risk refers to incident cases
onlymortality refers to the 'NEWLY' dead, due to cause of the onset of a
NEW infection
◍ Type of correlation: interval level variables.
Answer: Pearson correlation
◍ Scales in statistics.
Answer: hierarchically arranged from least information provided to most
information provided. Nominal* (Categorical)OrdinalInterval*Ratio
◍ probabilities: non-independent event.
Answer: multiple the probability of 1 event by the probability of the second,
assuming that the 1st has occurredexample:- a box has 5 white balls and 5
black balls, chance of picking 2 black balls is...(5/10) x (4/9) = 0.22 (22%)
interpretation: 1st probability is the chance of the 1st draw, the 2nd
probability is the chance of the 2nd draw assuming 1st happened; multiply
probabilities together
◍ Health care utilization: General trends.
Answer: General trends:- chronic conditions ; acute conditions - heart
disease ; cancer - heart disease still #1 killer- >65yrs see physicians 2x
much as younger than 45- white visit physicians 10x more than blacks
◍ If mother is HIV-positive, will the child be HIV+ at birth? Will they be truly
HIV positive? Breastfeeding on transmission rate?.
, Answer: 100%; at birth all will be positive due to mother's
antibodies***but...- 18% remains HIV-positive after 1 year- breast-feeding
increases transmission rate to 50%*** (example of court taking the child
until mother promises not to breastfeed)
◍ P-value is traditionally set at what number? Significance of relationship?.
Answer: PURPOSE IS TO MAKE A DECISIONALWAYS ASSUME
NULL HYPOTHESIS IS RIGHTp</=0.05 = criterionIf computed p</=0.05,
reject the null hypothesis (reached statistical significance)if computed
p>0.05, do not reject the null hypothesis (has not reached statistical
significance)
◍ Attributable risk (AR).
Answer: The different in risk between exposed and unexposed groups.
◍ Hypothalamus.
Answer: The area of the brain that secretes substances that influence
pituitary and other gland function and is involved in the control of body
temperature, hunger, thirst, and other processes that regulate body
equilibrium.
◍ Confidence intervals for Relative Risk and Odds Ratios.
Answer: If the given confidence interval contains 1.0, then there is no
statistically significance effect of exposure to risk factorWhy?RR =
Incidence (exposure) / Incidence (non-exposure)if RR = 1, that means the
incidence of exposure equals the incidence of non-exposure making the risk
of exposure insignificantOdds ratio = odds of exposure in cases / odds of
exposure in non-casesif odds = 1, that means (people with exposure and
non-exposure resulted in same number of cases)/(people with exposure and
non-exposure resulted in the same number of non-cases), insignificant
dataInterpretation:RR = 1.7 with 95% CI (1.2~1.95)subtract 1 from 1.7 and
you get 0.7; interpreted as a 70% increase of cases with exposure
◍ Statistical Tests: Nominal.
Answer: chi-squareany # of groups
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026 FULL
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ Split brain.
Answer: a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brains two
hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them.
◍ Peripheral nervous system.
Answer: the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord.
◍ Crude mortality rate.
Answer: Death/Population
◍ Causes of death patterns in minority groups compared with whites: african
american, latinos, native americans, Asians.
Answer: Categories include: cancer, CV, drug abuse, diabetes, infant
mortality, violence, homicide, suicide, unintentional injury, AIDSAfrican
Americans:- increased risks in ALL categories- EXCEPT: suicide*Latinos:-
increased risk in violence related- EXCEPT: cancer, CV, infant mortality,
suicideNative Americans:- increased risk in violence and death - EXCEPT:
cancer, CV, AIDSAsians:- no increased risk- SAFER
◍ Cross-over study.
Answer: for ethical reasons, no group involved can remain untreated. All
subjects receive intervention, but at different times.Makes recruitment of
subjects easier.Cross over date and group allocations are both double-blind
selectionsExample: AZT trials- assume double-blind design. - Group A
receives AZT for 3 months- Group B is control- For second 3 months,
Group B receives AZT- For second 3 months, Group A is controlMultiple
comparisons: can compare group A on and off the drug, etc.
,◍ Systematic error imposes on what aspect of the study?.
Answer: bad and biases resultsa threat to validity
◍ What are the categories in which Asians have no increased risk compared to
whites in causes of death?.
Answer: ALLASIANS ARE SAFER
◍ MRI.
Answer: is a brain imaging technique that detects magnetic changes in the
brain's blood flow patterns.
◍ A patient survives a massive MI and is finally discharged, he asks 'doc,
when can I have sex with my wife again', what are your best answers? Then
he asks, what positions can we do?.
Answer: 1. Whenever you feel like you can2. Whenever you pass a stress
test (walking flights of stairs)Best position is to have the person with MI flat
on their back and the partner on top.note: don't give time frame answers
because patients tend to take us seriously
◍ correlation analysis.
Answer: r, ranges from -1.0 to +1.0A positive value means that 2 variables
go together in the same direction- MCAT scores have a positive correlation
with medical school gradesA negative value means that the presence of one
variable is associated with the absence of another variable- negative
correlation between age and quickness o f reflexes - mutually non-exclusive
The further from -, the stronger the relationship (r=0)zero correlation means
that 2 variables have no linear relation to one another - height and success in
schoolgraphing correlations using scatterplots - scatterplot will show points
that approximate a line- positive slope, negative slope
◍ Cancer rates: female lung cancer rates.
Answer: Female lung cancer rates are increasing:- 5.1 per 100,000 in 1965-
more than 30 per 100,000 in 2005- #1 cause of cancer mortality in women
◍ Relative risk to estimate risk association.
Answer: Cohort studies
,◍ What are the top 3 causes of death in the age group 1~4 years old?.
Answer: 1: Unintended injuries2: Congenital anomalies3: Neoplasia
◍ Adolescent suicide (15-19): lifetime prevalence of suicide ideation? Had a
friend who committed suicide? Ethnic group with highest suicide rate?.
Answer: ideation: 54%friend who committed suicide: 60%Ethnic group
(15-19) with highest suicide rate: Native Americans(note: this age group has
the highest suicide rate for all ages of Native Americans)
◍ Mortality rate.
Answer: rate of death in a population at risk refers to incident cases
onlymortality refers to the 'NEWLY' dead, due to cause of the onset of a
NEW infection
◍ Type of correlation: interval level variables.
Answer: Pearson correlation
◍ Scales in statistics.
Answer: hierarchically arranged from least information provided to most
information provided. Nominal* (Categorical)OrdinalInterval*Ratio
◍ probabilities: non-independent event.
Answer: multiple the probability of 1 event by the probability of the second,
assuming that the 1st has occurredexample:- a box has 5 white balls and 5
black balls, chance of picking 2 black balls is...(5/10) x (4/9) = 0.22 (22%)
interpretation: 1st probability is the chance of the 1st draw, the 2nd
probability is the chance of the 2nd draw assuming 1st happened; multiply
probabilities together
◍ Health care utilization: General trends.
Answer: General trends:- chronic conditions ; acute conditions - heart
disease ; cancer - heart disease still #1 killer- >65yrs see physicians 2x
much as younger than 45- white visit physicians 10x more than blacks
◍ If mother is HIV-positive, will the child be HIV+ at birth? Will they be truly
HIV positive? Breastfeeding on transmission rate?.
, Answer: 100%; at birth all will be positive due to mother's
antibodies***but...- 18% remains HIV-positive after 1 year- breast-feeding
increases transmission rate to 50%*** (example of court taking the child
until mother promises not to breastfeed)
◍ P-value is traditionally set at what number? Significance of relationship?.
Answer: PURPOSE IS TO MAKE A DECISIONALWAYS ASSUME
NULL HYPOTHESIS IS RIGHTp</=0.05 = criterionIf computed p</=0.05,
reject the null hypothesis (reached statistical significance)if computed
p>0.05, do not reject the null hypothesis (has not reached statistical
significance)
◍ Attributable risk (AR).
Answer: The different in risk between exposed and unexposed groups.
◍ Hypothalamus.
Answer: The area of the brain that secretes substances that influence
pituitary and other gland function and is involved in the control of body
temperature, hunger, thirst, and other processes that regulate body
equilibrium.
◍ Confidence intervals for Relative Risk and Odds Ratios.
Answer: If the given confidence interval contains 1.0, then there is no
statistically significance effect of exposure to risk factorWhy?RR =
Incidence (exposure) / Incidence (non-exposure)if RR = 1, that means the
incidence of exposure equals the incidence of non-exposure making the risk
of exposure insignificantOdds ratio = odds of exposure in cases / odds of
exposure in non-casesif odds = 1, that means (people with exposure and
non-exposure resulted in same number of cases)/(people with exposure and
non-exposure resulted in the same number of non-cases), insignificant
dataInterpretation:RR = 1.7 with 95% CI (1.2~1.95)subtract 1 from 1.7 and
you get 0.7; interpreted as a 70% increase of cases with exposure
◍ Statistical Tests: Nominal.
Answer: chi-squareany # of groups
