FCPS Part 1 Psychiatry MCQs by Subject: Anatomy, Pharmacology & Pathology

Sample FCPS Part 1 Psychiatry MCQs from the paper's largest basic-science subjects after Psychiatry itself — Anatomy and Pharmacology — plus Pathology, each with the correct answer explained.

FCPS Part 1 Psychiatry doesn't test clinical psychiatry in isolation — like every FCPS Part 1 paper, it draws heavily on the basic sciences. In HighYield's Psychiatry question bank, Anatomy and Pharmacology are the two largest subjects by question volume after Psychiatry itself, well ahead of Physiology and Biochemistry. Below is a sample across Anatomy, Pharmacology and Pathology, with a neuroscience lean given the specialty.

Anatomy

1. Which brain structure, part of the limbic system, plays the central role in forming new long-term memories?

A) Amygdala
B) Hippocampus ✅
C) Thalamus
D) Cerebellum

2. Broca's area, whose damage causes non-fluent (expressive) aphasia, is located in which lobe?

A) Parietal lobe
B) Occipital lobe
C) Frontal lobe ✅
D) Temporal lobe

3. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is the hallmark pathology of:

A) Alzheimer's disease
B) Parkinson's disease ✅
C) Huntington's disease
D) Multiple sclerosis

Pharmacology

4. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) exert their antidepressant effect primarily by:

A) Blocking dopamine receptors
B) Inhibiting serotonin reuptake at the presynaptic terminal ✅
C) Inhibiting monoamine oxidase
D) Blocking NMDA receptors

5. Regular monitoring of renal and thyroid function is required during long-term treatment with which mood stabiliser?

A) Sodium valproate
B) Lithium ✅
C) Lamotrigine
D) Carbamazepine

6. Extrapyramidal side effects such as rigidity and tremor with typical (first-generation) antipsychotics are primarily due to blockade of:

A) Serotonin receptors
B) Dopamine D2 receptors ✅
C) Histamine receptors
D) Muscarinic receptors

Pathology

7. Neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques on histology are the defining features of:

A) Parkinson's disease
B) Alzheimer's disease ✅
C) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
D) Vascular dementia

8. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, seen in chronic alcohol use, results from deficiency of which vitamin?

A) Vitamin B12
B) Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) ✅
C) Folate
D) Vitamin B6

Why the Basic Sciences Still Decide Your Score

It's tempting to treat Anatomy, Pharmacology and Pathology as "already covered" from MBBS and focus revision purely on clinical Psychiatry. In HighYield's own Psychiatry bank, though, these three subjects together outweigh most individual clinical topics — tested at FCPS Part 1 depth, integrated with psychiatric scenarios rather than asked in isolation.

HighYield's FCPS Part 1 Psychiatry question bank covers every subject in the paper, each question explained. For the full syllabus and duration, see our FCPS Psychiatry syllabus guide. Try the first 20 questions free, no sign-in required.