GRE Reading Comprehension
Home > GRE Test > GRE Reading Comprehension Questions
Next steps
- Use your browser's back button to return to your test results.
- Do more GRE Reading Comprehension Questions.
Source: magoosh reading hard
Scientists have created double-blind studies so that neither the subjects of the experiment nor scientists know whether a patient is receiving an actual drug or a placebo, which is nothing more than a sugar pill. Essentially, if one knows that one is receiving an actual pill, such knowledge can affect the outcome of a study. A recent study on the effectiveness of the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Freloxamine on depression found that those subjects administered the drug were 15% more likely to have a decrease in symptoms than the control group, which was comprised of those who received a placebo. Since neither group knew which they were receiving, the placebo or the SSRI inhibitor, the observed drop in depression can only be attributed to Freloxamine.
Question List: 1
Which of the following, if true, best calls into question the conclusion of the argument?
- A Neither the patients nor the doctors in either group (the control group or the Freloxamine group) knew which drug they were receiving.
- B Since patients in both groups were debriefed on the potential side effects of SSRI, which can often be pronounced, many in the Freloxamine group, upon exhibiting side effects, concluded that they were being administered the SSRI.
- C Freloxamine does not exhibit a uniform effect in all patients, with many reporting little improvement in symptoms of depression, even after several months of taking the drug.
- D At dosages two-fold of those employed in the trial, Freloxamine has been shown to cause brief episodes of psychosis.
- E One subject from the Freloxamine group experienced debilitating side effects and was forced to drop out of the trial before its completion.