SDRB- drug addiction

what are drugs?

chemical substances that interact with the biochemistry of the body

what are psychoactive drugs?

chemicals that influence the way we feel or act

what two systems are usually involved with psychoactive drugs?

nervous system and endocrine system at mostly the synapses

what are agonist drugs?

drugs that mimic the action of the neurotransmitter

what are antagonist drugs?

drugs that block the action of the neurotransmitter

what are auto receptors?

receptors that sit in the presynaptic membrane that causes a negative feedback loop

if a drug interacts with a presynaptic autoreceptor as an agonist, what is it at the synapse level?

antagonist as it has blocked the release of NT

if a drug interacts with a presynaptic autoreceptor as an antagonist, what is it at the synapse level?

agonist, as it increases the level of NT

what is the slowest way to metabolise a pharmacokinetic?

digestive tract

what is the quickest way of metabolising pharmacokinetics?

intravenous injection

what molecules can be directlu dissolved into the blood, but don’t pass through cell membranes?

water-soluble molecules

What molecules need transport them through the blood, but can pass directly through cell membranes?

lipid-soluble molecules

what barrier causes lipid soluble molecules to reach the brain easier?

the blood brain barrier

what are capillary walls made of?

lipid bi-layer

what type of soluble are most psychoactive drugs?

lipid-soluble

what are the two ways in which drugs are eventually eliminated from the body?

chemical breakdown or excretion

what is a biological half-life

the time it takes to go from peak concentration to half-peak concentration?

are drugs with shorter half-lives cleared quicker or slower?

quicker

what is drug tolerance depicted by?

a shift in the dose-response curve

what is drug tolerance a form of?

negative feedback

what is the purpose of negative feedback?

to maintain homeostasis

what are the 3 types of functional tolerance?

change in receptor number, change in receptor sensitivity, and change in intra-cellular cascades

what does tolerance lead to when the drug stops being taken?

withdrawal effects

what is the relationship between drug effects and withdrawal effects?

withdrawal effects will be the opposite of drug effects

what does repeated drug exposure lead to?

the development of adaptive neural changes that produce tolerance by counteracting the drug effect

what do drug related context cues cause?

compensatory reactions to the drug

what does operant conditioning strengthen the relationship between?

the perceptual system and motor system

what part of the brain has a lot of dopaminergic neurons?

the ventral tegmental area

where in the brain do dopaminergic neurons create synpases?

the nucleus accumbens

what system connects the midbrain to the endbrain?

mesotelencephalic dopamine system

what specific structures are connected by the mesotelencephalic dopamine system?

the mesencephalon and the telencephalon

what is the name for the bundle of dopaminergic axons?

medial forebrain bundle

what is released following the stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle?

dopamine

where does dopamine go to when a reward is given in response to a stimulus?

into the nucleus accumbens from the ventral tegmental area

what does the seeking/wanting hypothesis suggest dopamine release is associated with?

the experience of gathering information and a compulsion to do something over and over again

what is psychological dependence?

when drugs directly interact with the brains reward system

what does the mesotelencephalic dopamine system bypass in operant conditioning?

the reinforcing stimulus and instead direclty reinforces a behaviour