NEET-PG 2025 — Psychiatry
7 Previous Year Questions with Answers & Explanations
A man is extremely particular about being on time and consistently shows a strong need for order, control, and perfectionism. Which personality disorder does this behavior most likely suggest?
A patient on long-term antipsychotics develops involuntary mouth and lip movements (perioral dyskinesia). What is the best treatment?
A female patient presents with flashbacks and a history of forgetting about her father's death in a road traffic accident 2 weeks ago. What is the most likely diagnosis?
A person was found in a bizarre location, appearing confused. The caretaker reports he had no memory of how he got there, and the patient is unaware of his travel to the location. What is the most likely diagnosis?
A man reports that he is receiving orders from God to follow white birds in a specific direction. What is the most appropriate description of this symptom?
A 25-year-old male was injured during an earthquake. A social worker reports that he was later found in another town, and the man has no memory of how he got there or of his personal identity. What is the most likely diagnosis?
A patient on haloperidol for 2 years presents with orofacial dyskinesia and extrapyramidal symptoms. What is the appropriate treatment?
NEET-PG 2025 - Psychiatry NEET-PG Practice Questions and MCQs
Question 1: A man is extremely particular about being on time and consistently shows a strong need for order, control, and perfectionism. Which personality disorder does this behavior most likely suggest?
- A. Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- B. Paranoid Personality Disorder
- C. Schizoid Personality Disorder
- D. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (Correct Answer)
Explanation: ***Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder*** - Core features include a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with **orderliness**, **perfectionism**, and **mental and interpersonal control**. - The extreme need to be on time and the consistent focus on control and order align perfectly with the diagnostic criteria for **OCPD**. *Paranoid Personality Disorder* - Characterized by a pervasive distrust and **suspiciousness** of others, often interpreting their motives as malevolent. - The primary concern is not order or perfectionism, but rather the fear of being **deceived** or **exploited**. *Narcissistic Personality Disorder* - Defined by a pervasive pattern of **grandiosity**, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy; they believe they are special or unique. - While they may demand perfection from others, their own behavior is motivated by maintaining high **self-esteem** and status, not inherent orderliness or control for its own sake. *Schizoid Personality Disorder* - Involves profound detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression; they typically prefer **solitary activities**. - This disorder does not involve the characteristic preoccupation with rules, control, or **perfectionism** seen in the patient described.
Question 2: A patient on long-term antipsychotics develops involuntary mouth and lip movements (perioral dyskinesia). What is the best treatment?
- A. Stop antipsychotic and give tetrabenazine (Correct Answer)
- B. Start benzodiazepines
- C. Give anticholinergics
- D. Increase the antipsychotic dose
Explanation: ***Stop antipsychotic and give tetrabenazine*** - Managing **Tardive Dyskinesia (TD)** involves either switching to a less potent antipsychotic (like clozapine) or, ideally, reducing or discontinuing the offending antipsychotic if clinically feasible. - **Tetrabenazine** (or its analogues valbenazine/deutetrabenazine) are **VMAT2 inhibitors** that decrease presynaptic dopamine release, making them the **first-line pharmacological treatment** for established TD. - This combination represents the most definitive approach when the underlying psychiatric condition allows antipsychotic discontinuation. *Increase the antipsychotic dose* - Increasing the antipsychotic dose temporarily masks TD by increasing central dopamine receptor blockade, but this worsens the underlying **striatal dopamine receptor upregulation** that causes TD. - This strategy only delays definitive treatment and prolongs the risk of severe, irreversible dyskinesia. - While it may suppress movements transiently, it is **never** appropriate long-term management. *Start benzodiazepines* - **Benzodiazepines** (GABA agonists) are generally ineffective for the core involuntary movements of established **Tardive Dyskinesia**. - They may be useful for acute movement disorders or anxiety but lack efficacy against chronic, persistent dopamine-related dyskinesia. *Give anticholinergics* - **Anticholinergic drugs** (e.g., benztropine, trihexyphenidyl) are the treatment of choice for **acute dystonia** and drug-induced Parkinsonism. - These agents are generally **contraindicated** in Tardive Dyskinesia because they often worsen or reveal underlying dyskinetic movements.
Question 3: A female patient presents with flashbacks and a history of forgetting about her father's death in a road traffic accident 2 weeks ago. What is the most likely diagnosis?
- A. Dissociative Amnesia
- B. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- C. Adjustment Disorder
- D. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) (Correct Answer)
Explanation: ***Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)*** - This diagnosis is defined by the presence of severe dissociative, intrusive (**flashbacks**), negative mood, and arousal symptoms occurring between **3 days and 1 month** after exposure to a traumatic event (2 weeks in this case). - The combination of **flashbacks** (intrusion symptom) and forgetting/amnesia (dissociative symptom) is characteristic of the acute reaction to trauma seen in ASD. *Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)* - PTSD requires similar symptoms (intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition/mood) to persist for **more than 1 month** following the traumatic event. - Since the event occurred only 2 weeks ago, the required duration criterion for a PTSD diagnosis has not been fulfilled yet. *Dissociative Amnesia* - While the patient exhibits amnesia, this diagnosis is generally reserved for extensive memory loss concerning important **autobiographical information**, not better explained by another mental disorder. - The presence of accompanying **flashbacks** and the acute time frame following the trauma better support the diagnosis of ASD. *Adjustment Disorder* - Adjustment disorder involves emotional or behavioral symptoms developed within 3 months of an identifiable stressor, but the symptoms are not severe enough to meet criteria for ASD or PTSD. - The presence of severe clinical features like **flashbacks** and **dissociative amnesia** excludes an Adjustment Disorder diagnosis, as it meets the criteria for the more specific and severe ASD.
Question 4: A person was found in a bizarre location, appearing confused. The caretaker reports he had no memory of how he got there, and the patient is unaware of his travel to the location. What is the most likely diagnosis?
- A. Dissociative amnesia
- B. Dissociative identity disorder
- C. Psychotic episode
- D. Dissociative fugue (Correct Answer)
Explanation: ***Dissociative fugue*** - This diagnosis is defined by **sudden, unexpected travel** away from home or the known environment, coupled with the inability to recall one's past or identity details (generalized **amnesia** for the journey). - The patient being found in a **bizarre location** and having no memory of the travel perfectly encapsulates the clinical definition of a dissociative fugue (a specifier of Dissociative Amnesia in DSM-5). *Dissociative identity disorder* - The hallmark feature is the presence of **two or more distinct personality states** or alters, which recurrently take control of the person's behavior. - While amnesia is present, it involves gaps in the recall of everyday events, not just isolated memory loss related specifically to an unexpected journey. *Dissociative amnesia* - This involves the inability to recall important personal information, usually of a **stressful or traumatic nature**, that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetting. - Simple dissociative amnesia lacks the specific component of **purposeful, unplanned travel** away from home that characterizes a fugue state. *Psychotic episode* - Psychotic disorders are characterized by **positive symptoms** like **delusions** (fixed false beliefs) and **hallucinations** (perceptual disturbances). - The patient's confusion stems from a lack of memory regarding the journey (**dissociation**), not from a primary break with reality or thought disorder.
Question 5: A man reports that he is receiving orders from God to follow white birds in a specific direction. What is the most appropriate description of this symptom?
- A. Delusional perception
- B. Visual hallucination
- C. Passivity phenomenon (Correct Answer)
- D. Thought insertion
Explanation: ***Passivity phenomenon*** - This symptom describes **delusions of control** (also called **made acts** or **passivity of volition**), which is a type of **passivity phenomenon**. - The patient believes that an **external force (God) is giving orders** and directing their actions (following white birds in a specific direction). - This represents the experience of **being controlled or influenced by an external agency**, which is a **First Rank Symptom** of schizophrenia according to Kurt Schneider. - The key feature is the belief in **external control over one's will or actions**, not merely attaching meaning to a perception. *Delusional perception* - This requires a **two-step process**: (1) a normal perception occurs, then (2) this perception is suddenly given **delusional significance** (e.g., "I saw the traffic light turn red and instantly knew I was the Messiah"). - The scenario described does **not** show the birds triggering a new delusional belief; rather, the patient already has an **established delusion of receiving divine commands**. - The birds are the **medium** through which control is exerted, not a perception given new meaning. *Visual hallucination* - A **hallucination** is a perception occurring in the **absence of an external stimulus**. - Since the white birds are actually present and the patient is seeing real birds, this is **not** a hallucination. - The pathology lies in the **delusional belief about being commanded**, not in perceiving something that isn't there. *Thought insertion* - This is a First Rank Symptom where the patient believes **thoughts are being inserted into their mind** by an external force. - The current scenario involves **receiving orders to perform actions** (passivity of volition), not the experience of alien thoughts being placed in one's mind. - While both involve external agency, thought insertion specifically concerns **thoughts**, whereas this case concerns **volitional control**.
Question 6: A 25-year-old male was injured during an earthquake. A social worker reports that he was later found in another town, and the man has no memory of how he got there or of his personal identity. What is the most likely diagnosis?
- A. Dissociative identity disorder
- B. Acute stress disorder
- C. Dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue (Correct Answer)
- D. PTSD
Explanation: ***Dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue*** - In **DSM-5**, dissociative fugue is no longer a separate disorder but a **specifier** of dissociative amnesia. - It is characterized by **sudden, unexpected travel** away from home or customary workplace along with an **inability to recall** some or all of one's past. - This condition involves **amnesia regarding one's identity** (personal identity/autobiographical memory) and is frequently precipitated by severe psychological trauma or stress (the earthquake). - The combination of **purposeful travel** to another location and **loss of personal identity** is pathognomonic for this specifier. *Dissociative identity disorder* - This disorder involves the presence of two or more distinct **personality states** (alters) that recurrently take control of behavior. - The primary feature is **fragmentation of identity**, not the transient, single episode of extensive travel and sudden amnesia described here. *Acute stress disorder* - This diagnosis requires symptoms (e.g., intrusion, negative mood, avoidance, dissociation) to occur within **3 days to 1 month** after exposure to trauma. - While trauma is present, the specific symptom combination of **purposeful wandering** and **loss of personal identity** is the critical differentiating factor for dissociative fugue. *PTSD* - This diagnosis requires symptoms (intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal) to persist for **more than one month** following the traumatic event. - The key features presented are **flight** (wandering to another town) and **extensive identity amnesia**, which are characteristic of the dissociative fugue specifier, not core PTSD symptoms.
Question 7: A patient on haloperidol for 2 years presents with orofacial dyskinesia and extrapyramidal symptoms. What is the appropriate treatment?
- A. Akathisia - propranolol
- B. Parkinsonism - amantadine
- C. Tardive dyskinesia - valbenazine (Correct Answer)
- D. Acute dystonia - ropinirole
Explanation: ***Tardive dyskinesia - valbenazine*** - The patient's presentation of **orofacial dyskinesia** following **long-term use** (2 years) of a high-potency antipsychotic like haloperidol is highly characteristic of **Tardive Dyskinesia (TD)**, a chronic EPS. - **Valbenazine** (a VMAT2 inhibitor) is one of the primary, FDA-approved treatments specifically used to reduce the severity of abnormal movements in TD. *Acute dystonia - ropinirole* - **Acute dystonia** is an immediate reaction (hours to days) involving severe muscle spasms, not a delayed presentation of dyskinesia. - The treatment for acute dystonia is typically an **anticholinergic** (e.g., benztropine) or diphenhydramine; **ropinirole** is a dopamine agonist used for Parkinson's disease. *Akathisia - propranolol* - **Akathisia** is defined by a subjective feeling of restlessness and an objective inability to sit still, which is different from the involuntary, choreiform movements of **dyskinesia**. - Although **propranolol** is the appropriate treatment for akathisia, the symptom cluster (orofacial dyskinesia) indicates a diagnosis of **TD**. *Parkinsonism - amantadine* - Drug-induced **Parkinsonism** involves bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor, rather than the prominent abnormal mouth and face movements (dyskinesia) seen here. - While **amantadine** is used for drug-induced parkinsonism, it is generally ineffective or potentially worsens the movements associated with **Tardive Dyskinesia**.