Drug Use and Addiction Flashcards

Flashcards about Drug Use and Addiction

What are some common routes of drug administration?

Ingestion/oral, Injection (SC, IM, IV), Inhalation (gases, smoke), Intranasal, Transdermal

For a drug to be absorbed into the body, what must it be capable of?

It must be lipid soluble and pass via diffusion, or be carried through by a specialised transporter molecule.

What happens during metabolic tolerance?

↓amount of the drug reaching the target cells

What happens during functional tolerance

↓ability of the drug to influence the target cells

What is cross-tolerance?

Tolerance to one drug diminishes the effect of another drug

What is acute tolerance or tachyphlaxsis?

tolerance after one drug administration

What is sensitization (reverse tolerance)

refers to ↑effects of a drug usually following repeat administrations

What is drug addiction?

Use drugs despite adverse effects, and despite attempts to stop using it

What is contingent drug tolerance?

tolerance that develops only to drug effects that are actually experienced

What is conditioned drug tolerance?

tolerance that is drug predictive stimuli

What is nicotine?

psychoactive ingredient (acts on nicotinic receptors) that is highly addictive and leading cause of preventable death

What is alcohol?

Both fat and water-soluble, is a depressant, and can cause fetal alcohol syndrome

What is cannabis?

Plant with THC and other psychoactive compounds.

Name some stimulants

Cocaine, Amphetamines and methamphetamines

What are opiods?

Analgesics, highly addictive/tolerance/withdrawal. Examples: Heroin and Morphine

What is physical dependence?

Withdrawal avoidance

What is positive-incentive?

Take drugs for pleasurable effects

What happened in the 1950s with Intracranial Self-Stimulation & the Mesotelencephalic DA System

Olds and Milner activate reward circuits

What is the evidence of mesocorticolimbic pathway?

brain sites at which self-stimulation occurs are part of mesocorticolimbic pathway

What is the role of Dopamine in the nucleus accumbens?

Critical to experience of reward and pleasure

What are the 3 stages in the development of an addiction?

Initial drug taking, Habitual drug taking, Drug craving and addiction relapse

During habitual drug taking, what is the incentive?

Positive incentive value (vs hedonic value)

Name a factor that can cause Drug craving and addiction relapse

Stress, Drug priming, Conditioned environmental cues