The Complete Doctor Academy  Paper A · Neuroscience
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MRCPsych Paper A · 2027 Domain 2 · 22–28% of the paper

Neuroscience

Ten modules, mapped to the 2027 RCPsych syllabus, Domain 2 sections 2.3–2.13

Tap any module to open its briefing, worked example questions, and its question-bank link. Neuroscience (22–28%) and clinical psychopharmacology (22–28%) together carry about half of Paper A, so depth here is decisive. Modules 2.3 Basic techniques and 2.4 Cells are live; the rest are added continuously.

Modules 2.3 – 2.13

The techniques module is a reliable source of marks because the facts are discrete and testable. Anchor the EEG frequency bands (delta

Example Questions

Q1A researcher advances a fine glass micropipette until its tip seals onto a single neuron’s membrane, allowing the current through one ion channel to be measured. Which technique is being described?
  1. A Patch-clamp recording
  2. B Scalp EEG
  3. C Functional MRI
  4. D Microdialysis
  5. E PET imaging
Reveal answer
Correct answer: A
Reason: Patch-clamp seals a micropipette onto the membrane to record currents from a single channel or a single cell — the highest-resolution electrical method.
Q2Single-unit recording measures which specific type of neuronal signal?
  1. A The action potentials (spikes) of one neuron
  2. B The summed rhythms of the whole scalp
  3. C Blood-oxygen changes in a region
  4. D Extracellular dopamine concentration
  5. E The magnetic field of a cortical column
Reveal answer
Correct answer: A
Reason: Single-unit recording captures the action-potential spikes of one individual neuron via a microelectrode placed very close to it.
Q3Compared with the EEG, single-unit recording is best described as having:
  1. A High spatial resolution but a very small, invasive sampling field
  2. B Whole-brain coverage and no need for surgery
  3. C Poor temporal resolution measured over minutes
  4. D A signal derived from blood flow
  5. E No ability to detect action potentials
Reveal answer
Correct answer: A
Reason: Single-unit recording resolves one cell precisely, but only samples a tiny region and requires an electrode in the tissue — the mirror image of EEG.
Question bank76 questions live · members onlyOpen in question bank →
Cellular neuroscience rewards the fundamentals: the resting potential (~−70 mV) set by K⁺ and the Na⁺/K⁺ pump, the Na⁺-in upstroke and K⁺-out repolarisation of the action potential, saltatory conduction at the nodes of Ranvier, and the glial division of labour (oligodendrocytes vs Schwann cells for myelin, astrocytes for the blood-brain barrier). Know ionotropic vs metabotropic receptors, and NMDA-dependent LTP as the model of memory.

Example Questions

Q1Which glial cell is responsible for forming the myelin sheath within the central nervous system?
  1. A Oligodendrocyte
  2. B Astrocyte
  3. C Microglia
  4. D Schwann cell
  5. E Ependymal cell
Reveal answer
Correct answer: A
Reason: In the CNS, oligodendrocytes make myelin — and one oligodendrocyte can myelinate several axons.
Q2Which glial cell myelinates axons in the peripheral nervous system?
  1. A Schwann cell
  2. B Oligodendrocyte
  3. C Astrocyte
  4. D Microglia
  5. E Ependymal cell
Reveal answer
Correct answer: A
Reason: Schwann cells are the PNS myelin-makers; each Schwann cell myelinates one segment of one axon.
Q3Which of the following is NOT a recognised function of astrocytes?
  1. A Forming the CNS myelin sheath
  2. B Contributing to the blood–brain barrier
  3. C Buffering extracellular potassium
  4. D Recycling glutamate
  5. E Providing metabolic support to neurons
Reveal answer
Correct answer: A
Reason: Astrocytes do many housekeeping jobs, but making CNS myelin is not one of them — that is the oligodendrocyte’s role.
Question bank29 questions live · members onlyOpen in question bank →
Half of Paper A's neuroscience marks sit in transmitters and pharmacodynamics, so this module is decisive. Learn the synthesis and breakdown pathways (tyrosine→dopamine→noradrenaline; tryptophan→serotonin), receptor families (D1–D5, 5-HT subtypes, GABA-A ionotropic vs GABA-B metabotropic), second-messenger systems, and the neuropeptides.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
Neuroanatomy is heavily tested and heavily visual. Master the basal ganglia circuitry, the limbic system (hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate, fornix, Papez circuit), lobe functions and lesions, the major white-matter tracts, and the neurochemical pathways (mesolimbic/mesocortical/nigrostriatal/tuberoinfundibular dopamine).
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
Circuits questions link anatomy to function: appetite (hypothalamic, leptin/ghrelin), sleep architecture and its regulation, the reward pathway and salience, memory circuits, and large-scale networks such as the default-mode and salience networks.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
This module covers the neuroendocrine and immune modulation of the brain: the HPA axis and the stress response, glucocorticoid effects, neuroendocrine changes across disorders, and the inflammatory/cytokine hypotheses of depression and psychosis.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
Genetics questions blend concepts and methods: heritability and twin/adoption studies, modes of inheritance, gene-identification methods (linkage, GWAS), endophenotypes, epigenetics, and gene-editing (CRISPR). Know the heritability estimates of the major disorders.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
Developmental neuroscience covers the biological substrate of development and change: neurodevelopmental models, the neurobiology of attachment, neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, the biology of intelligence and learning disability, and the age-dependent effects of brain injury.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
This module integrates the preceding science into the neurobiology of specific syndromes — autism, ADHD, addiction, anxiety disorders, PTSD, OCD, depression, bipolar, psychosis, self-harm, delirium and medically-unexplained symptoms — asking how circuits, transmitters and genes converge.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously
Neurodegeneration is high-yield and pattern-based: the pathophysiology of protein aggregation, and the distinguishing features of Alzheimer's (amyloid/tau, Braak staging), vascular dementia, Lewy body/Parkinson's, frontotemporal (Pick's), prion disease and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder.
Question bankComing soonIn production — added continuously