1|Page
COMPREHENSIVE NR 224 NEURO & MUSCULOSKELETAL
NURSING REVIEW | 2025–2026 UPDATED & VERIFIED
STUDY GUIDE | CORRECT ANSWERS + FULL CLINICAL
RATIONALES
Which hemisphere of brain is dominant in 95% of
humans
- ANSWER-left
Cerebral cortex function
- ANSWER-governs thought, memory, reasoning,
sensation, and voluntary movement
Gray matter
- ANSWER-lacks myelin
Frontal lobe function
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- ANSWER-personality, behavior, emotion, and
intellectual function -precentral gyrus initiates
voluntary movement
Parietal lobe function
- ANSWER-postcentral gyrus is the primary center
for sensation
Occipital lobe function
- ANSWER-primary visual receptor center
Temporal lobe
- ANSWER-primary auditory reception center, taste,
and smell
Wernicke's area
- ANSWER-in temporal lobe associated with
language comprehension
,3|Page
-When damaged in the dominant hemisphere,
receptive aphasia results
Broca's area - ANSWER-in frontal lobe mediates
motor speech
- When injured in dominant hemisphere, expressive
aphasia resultsBasal ganglia
- ANSWER-Bands of gray matter in temporal lobes
-Initiate and coordinate movements
-Controls automatic movements of body (e.g.,
walking)
Pathology of basal ganglia
- ANSWER-parkinson's disease, huntington's
disease, and cerebral palsy
, 4|Page
Thalamus - ANSWER-Paired lobed mass of gray
matter on top of the brainstem
• Main relay station: Sensory pathways of spinal
cord, cerebellum, and brainstem form synapses
• Involved in sensory perception and regulation of
motor functions
Pathology of thalamus - ANSWER-thalamic CVA,
thalamic syndrome (Dejerine-Roussy syndrome),
and schizophrenia
Hypothalamus - ANSWER-• Size of an almond,
inferior to the thalamus, above the midbrain •
Links the CNS to the endocrine system
• Control center for many autonomic functions of
the PNS
• Major respiratory center
COMPREHENSIVE NR 224 NEURO & MUSCULOSKELETAL
NURSING REVIEW | 2025–2026 UPDATED & VERIFIED
STUDY GUIDE | CORRECT ANSWERS + FULL CLINICAL
RATIONALES
Which hemisphere of brain is dominant in 95% of
humans
- ANSWER-left
Cerebral cortex function
- ANSWER-governs thought, memory, reasoning,
sensation, and voluntary movement
Gray matter
- ANSWER-lacks myelin
Frontal lobe function
,2|Page
- ANSWER-personality, behavior, emotion, and
intellectual function -precentral gyrus initiates
voluntary movement
Parietal lobe function
- ANSWER-postcentral gyrus is the primary center
for sensation
Occipital lobe function
- ANSWER-primary visual receptor center
Temporal lobe
- ANSWER-primary auditory reception center, taste,
and smell
Wernicke's area
- ANSWER-in temporal lobe associated with
language comprehension
,3|Page
-When damaged in the dominant hemisphere,
receptive aphasia results
Broca's area - ANSWER-in frontal lobe mediates
motor speech
- When injured in dominant hemisphere, expressive
aphasia resultsBasal ganglia
- ANSWER-Bands of gray matter in temporal lobes
-Initiate and coordinate movements
-Controls automatic movements of body (e.g.,
walking)
Pathology of basal ganglia
- ANSWER-parkinson's disease, huntington's
disease, and cerebral palsy
, 4|Page
Thalamus - ANSWER-Paired lobed mass of gray
matter on top of the brainstem
• Main relay station: Sensory pathways of spinal
cord, cerebellum, and brainstem form synapses
• Involved in sensory perception and regulation of
motor functions
Pathology of thalamus - ANSWER-thalamic CVA,
thalamic syndrome (Dejerine-Roussy syndrome),
and schizophrenia
Hypothalamus - ANSWER-• Size of an almond,
inferior to the thalamus, above the midbrain •
Links the CNS to the endocrine system
• Control center for many autonomic functions of
the PNS
• Major respiratory center
