Introduction to Pharmacology and Substance Use Disorders

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts, definitions, diagnostics, and pharmacological principles from the lecture notes.

Drug

A chemical entity or mixture other than those required for maintenance of normal health (like food), whose administration alters biological function and possibly structure.

Pharmacology

The scientific study of drugs and their effects on living organisms.

Psychoactive Drugs

Drugs that affect mental processes, including perception, emotion, mood, cognition, and consciousness.

Binge-drinking

The consumption of 4 or more drinks for women, or 5 or more drinks for men in a single session.

Intoxication

The development of a reversible, substance-specific syndrome due to recent ingestion of a substance that causes problematic behavior, mood, or psychological changes not due to another medical condition.

Substance Withdrawal

The development of substance-specific cognitive, behavioral, and physiological changes associated with the cessation or reduction of long-term substance use, causing clinically significant distress or impairment.

Substance/Medication-Induced Mental Disorder

Potentially severe, usually temporary central nervous system (CNS) disorders that develop in the context of substance use.

SUD Diagnosis Severity Levels

Diagnostic criteria groupings used to determine severity: Mild (2-3 criteria checked), Moderate (4-5 criteria checked), and Severe (6 or more criteria checked).

Physical Dependence

An adaptation where the body needs the drug to feel good or function normally.

Psychological Dependence

A strong desire for a drug's positive effects (such as relaxation or a high) where an individual does not feel mentally okay without it.

Sensitization

An increased responsiveness to a drug's effects, especially psychomotor or reinforcing effects, as drug exposure increases.

Cross-sensitization

A state where becoming sensitized to one drug results in sensitization to other drugs that produce the same effect.

Instrumental Drug Use

Therapeutic drug use intended to self-medicate a specific problem, such as social anxiety or insomnia.

Recreational Drug Use

Drug use intended to experience rewarding effects, such as getting drunk or high.

Objective Drug Effects

Pharmacological effects of a drug that can be directly observed and measured by another person, such as changes in heart rate, pupil dilation, or slurred speech.

Subjective Drug Effects

Pharmacological effects experienced exclusively by the user, such as anxiety, feeling high, creativity, or feeling inspired.

Psychological "Set"

The internal factors of the user, including knowledge, attitudes, and expectations about a drug's effects.

Setting

The external environment in which drug use occurs, including location, social context, laws, and cultural norms.

Dose

The ratio of the amount of drug administered per unit of body weight (e.g., $100\,\text{mg/kg}$).

Dose-effect Curve

A pictorial representation of a drug's effect plotted as a function of dose.

Effective Dose 50 ($\text{ED}_{50}$)

The dose of a drug at which 50% of people or animals display a particular effect.

Lethal Dose 50 ($\text{LD}_{50}$)

The dose of a drug that is lethal to 50% of test organisms.

Therapeutic Index

The ratio of a drug's lethal dose to its effective dose, expressed as $\text{LD}_{50}/\text{ED}_{50}$ or ideally $\text{LD}_1/\text{ED}_{99}$.

Potency

The dose of a drug required to produce a specific effect relative to another drug (e.g., 100 mg of codeine equals 10 mg of morphine).

Peak Efficacy

The dose level at which a drug's effectiveness reaches its maximum and does not continue to increase, but levels off or begins to decline.

Side Effect

Any non-target or unintended effect produced by a drug.

Moral Model of SUD

A theoretical perspective viewing addiction as the result of poor choices, poor character, low morals, and a lack of willpower.