M & B - EXAM 3 VOCABULARY (CH. 8-10)

What is Active Immunization?

Results in the stimulation of specific antibodies by the organism's immune system.
--> Includes immunization against flu viruses.
--> May also be used against specific drugs such as cocaine.

What are Catalytic Antibodies?

Antibodies used in passive immunization that facilitate the degradation of a specific molecule or drug.

What is c-FOS?

A protein that is expressed in response to a variety of extracellular signals including drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, nicotine, and morphine.

What is c-FOS Proteins?

A protein transcription factor that promotes the synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA) under the direction of DNA.

What is CREB Proteins?

Cyclic AMP response element-binding protein. Binds to an element on DNA thereby activating a gene for the synthesis of a specific protein.

What is Immediate Early Genes (IEGs)?

Proteins that are activated by stimuli that activate intracellular signaling.
--> May also be activated by certain drugs.

What is Incentive Sensitization?

An increase in the incentive value of the drug as well as drug-associated cues.

What is the Medial Forebrain Bundle?

The bundle of axons projecting from the VTA to the Nucleus accumbens.

What is Passive Immunization?

An immunization Method using antibodies that rapidly decrease a molecule or drug by increasing enzyme activity.

What is Psychomotor Sensitization?

Refers to a drug's potential to increase motor activity and drug seeking behaviors after repeated administration.

What is the Reward Pathway?

A pathway of Dopaminergic neurons originating in the ventral tegmentum and projecting to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex.

What is the Second Messenger?

A chemical within a cell that activates a cascade of events leading to the opening or closing on an ion channel.
--> For EX: Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is a second messenger.
--> An opposite EX: A neurotransmitter is considered to be the first messenger.

What is Self-Administration?

An experimental procedure where animals can control the rate and amount of drug administration, usually by pressing a lever.
--> Often used to assess the abuse liability of drugs.

What is the Septum?

A structure in the Mesolimbic system that is adjacent to the nucleus accumbens.

What is Substance Use Disorder?

A pattern of drug use that leads to significant impairment in functioning and personal relations.
--> DSM-5 identifies this by substance classification (EX: alcohol use disorder, opiate use disorder, stimulant use disorder, etc.).

What is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)?

The psychoactive compound in marijuana.

What is Amphetamine Psychosis?

A psychotic state induced by the stimulants amphetamine and cocaine.
--> Symptoms include paranoid delusions and hallucinations.

What is an Analgesic?

A class of drug that blocks ascending pain signals in the spinal cord and brain stem.

What is an Anandamide?

An endogenous ligand for the cannabinoid receptor.

What is an Anesthetic?

A class of drug used for anesthesia.
--> Produce a lack of awareness of body sensations and are used to sedate patients for surgery.

What is an Antimetic?

A class of drug used to treat nausea.

What is the Arcuate Nucleus?

A structure within the hypothalamus implicated in feeding regulating.

What is the Area Postrema?

An area of the brainstem that controls the vomiting reflex.
--> Has a relatively weak blood-brain barrier so it can detect toxins in the blood

What is Benzoylecgonine?

A principle metabolite of cocaine. W

What are the Cannabinoid Receptors?

A class of receptors specific for endogenous cannabinoids such as anandamide.
--> There are 2 distinct forms: CB1 and CB2

What is Cannabis Sativa?

A variety of hemp plant commonly known as marijuana.

What is Cocaethylene?

A compound that results from mixing the administrations of cocaine and alcohol.

What is Cocaine?

A powerful stimulant drug extracted from the coca plant (Erythroxylum Coca).

What is the Cocaine and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART)?

A peptide neurotransmitter found in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.
--> believed to be involved in feeding.

What is the Controlled Substance Act?

Enacted in 1970 to control the manufacture, distribution, and use of certain drugs with abuse potential.

What is Crack?

A cocaine produce that is produced by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in ammonia or a solution of sodium bicarbonate.

What is Crystal Meth?

A crystalline form of methamphetamine.

What is Dextroamphetamine (Dexadrine)?

An amphetamine compound used to treat narcolepsy, attention disorders, and obesity.

What are the Dopamine Transporters (DAT)?

A protein that selectively transports dopamine from the synaptic gap back into the terminal button.

What is the Drug Enforcement Administration?

An agency within the Department of Justice that oversees and enforces the Controlled Substance Act.

What is a Drug Schedule?

A drugs classification based on its potential for abuse as described by the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.
--> Drugs with the highest abuse potential and lowest medicinal value are Schedule 1 drugs.
--> There are 5 total Schedules.

What is Ecgonine?

A principle metabolite of cocaine.

What is Ephedra?

A mild stimulant that is extracted from the Ephedra Sinica plant.

What is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder?

A DSM-IV-TR Disorder characterized by the reexperience of hallucinogenic effects cause by psychedelic drugs long after drug intoxication.

What is the Harrison Narcotic Tax Act?

Enacted in 1914 to control the manufacture, distribution, and use of certain drugs with abuse potential.
--> Superseded by the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

What are Knockout Animals?

An experimental animal that has been genetically altered to not express certain genes.

What is Local Anesthesia?

A drug that clocks the conduction of nerve signals in a localized areas for surgery.

What is Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A long-term change in the excitability of a neuron induced by high frequency stimulation of its receptor.
--> Most often Investigated in NMDA receptors.

What does LSD stand for?

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

What is LSD?

A potent psychedelic drug that produces visual hallucinations.
--> Discovered by Dr. Albert Hoffman.

What is the Marihuana Tax Act?

Enacted in 1937 to regulate the distribution and use of marijuana by taxation.

What is Marijuana?

The common name for the hemp plan Cannabis Sativa.

What does MDA stand for?

3, 4 Methylenedioxyamphetamine.

What is MDA?

A compound structurally related to amphetamine and similar to MDMA.
--> Produces a state of Euphoria.

What does MDMA stand for?

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

What is MDMA?

A compound structurally related to amphetamine with euphoric effects.
--> AKA: Ecstasy

What is Methamphetamine (Desoxyephedrine)?

An amphetamine compound that can be produced by the reduction of ephedrine.

What is Methylbezoylecgonine?

A compound produced by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in ammonia.
--> AKA: Crack Cocaine

What is the Mesolimbic-Mesocortical Pathways?

Neural pathway originating in the central tegmental area of the midbrain and projecting to the nucleus accumbens and to the prefrontal cortex.

What is the Mesolimbic System?

A pathway of dopaminergic neurons originating in the ventral tegmentum (VTA) projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAC).

What is the Nigrostriatal System?

A system of brain structures and neurons originating in the substantia nigra projecting to the striatum of the basal ganglia.

What is the Nucleus Accumbens (NAC)?

A structure of the mesolimbic system that receives dopaminergic input from the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

What is a Partial Agonist?

DRUG THAT HAS AN AFFINITY FOR A RECEPTOR SITE, BUT MAY EXERT LESS OF AN EFFECT ON THE RECEPTOR THAN THE ENDOGENOUS LIGAND (so..uh...ignore the caps).

What is Place Preference Conditioning?

An experimental procedure where animals are tested for their preference for an area in an experimental apparatus where drugs had been administered over other areas within the apparatus.
--> A form of Pavlovian conditioning where a place becomes associated with drug effects.

What is Psilocybin?

A psychedelic compound found in a variety of mushrooms in the Psilocybe genus.

What are Psychedelics?

A class of drug that causes disturbances in perception

What is the Reticular Activating System?

A system of neurons originating in the brainstem projecting to the thalamus.
--> Involved in behavioral arousal and is crucial for maintaining the state of consciousness.

What are Reuptake Transporters?

Proteins embedded on the presynaptic terminal of neurons that transport neurotransmitter substances into the terminal button.

What is Stereotyped Behavior?

Rigid repetitive movements observed in experimental animals after the administration of psychomotor stimulants such as cocaine or amphetamine.

What is Synesthesia?

A perceptual phenomenon where sensations in one modality are experienced or mixed with another.

What is the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)?

An area of the midbrain that is the origin of dopaminergic cell bodies that comprise the mesolimbic system.

What is Acute Nicotine Tolerance?

The first stage of nicotine tolerance resulting from rapid internalization of nACh receptors.

What is Adenosine?

An inhibitory neuromodulator and a product of normal cellular activity.
--> Formed during the breakdown and synthesis of adenosine monophosphate (AMP).

What is Addiction?

Ch. 8: "A form of drug dependency that results from specific neural adaptations that affect dopamine activity in the Mesolimbic and Mesocortical systems."

Ch. 10: "A debilitating form of dependence resulting from exposure to drugs that rapidly increase dopamine activity and induce synaptic adaptations in the mesolimbic system. "

What is Alcohol Dehydrogenase?

The principle metabolite of alcohol.

What is Aldehyde Dehydrogenase?

The principle enzyme involved in alcohol metabolism.

What is Associative Tolerance?

A form of Pavlovian conditioning where drug onset cues elicit cellular adaptations contributing to drug tolerance.

What is Behavioral Sensitization?

An increase in motor behavior following chronic exposure to certain stimulant drugs.

What is Behavioral Tolerance?

A form of operant conditioning or behavioral adaptation where training under the influence of a drug enhances performance later when under the influence of the same drug.

What is Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)?

The amount of alcohol in the blood.
--> expressed as either grams per milliliter of blood or as a percent weight.
--> The legal limit for intoxication in most states is 0.08 percent.
--> Can be estimated by a breathalyzer

What is the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit?

0.08 percent in most states

What does a breathalyzer do?

Can measure the amount of alcohol is excreted in breath, so it can estimate BAC.

What is Botox?

An acetylcholine antagonist derived from botulism toxin used in dermatology to decrease facial wrinkles.

What is Caffeine?

An alkaloid found in a variety of plants including coffee shrubs, tea plants, and cocoa plants.

What is Caffeinism?

--> A consequence of caffeine overdose, which causes anxiety, irritability, muscle tremors, and insomnia.
--> Extreme cases of this may precipitate mania, disorientation, delusions, and even temporary psychosis.
--> Caffeine overdose may also cause cardiac arrhythmia, high heart rate and blood pressure, and GI distress.

What is Cellular Tolerance?

Develops as a result of cellular adaptations that decrease or downregulates cell activity.

What is Cotinine?

Primary metabolite of nicotine.

What is Cross Tolerance?

Tolerance to a drug can occur as a consequence of tolerance being developed to a similarly acting drug.
--> Benzodiazepine tolerance can contribute to alcohol tolerance without prior alcohol exposure.

What is CYP2A6?

P450 liver enzyme that metabolizes nicotine into cotinine.

What is Delirium Tremens?

A state characterized by confusion, agitation, fever, tachycardia, and hypertension that occurs during abstinence from chronic alcohol abuse.

What is Dependence?

A physiological state resulting from long-term exposure to certain drugs.
--> Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, delirium tremens, headache, sweating, nervousness, and agitation

What is Disulfiram (Antabuse)?

A drug that inhibits the aldehyde dehydrogenase metabolism of acetaldehyde. Causes illness and can discourage drinking.

What is Ethyl Alcohol (Ethanol)?

Alcohol produced during fermentation of sugars in fruits or grains.

What is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)?

Serious developmental disorder caused by alcohol exposure during prenatal development.

What is First-Pass Metabolism?

Drugs that are ingested are partially metabolized by stomach and liver enzymes before the remaining unmetabolized drug enters the bloodstream.

What is Fluidization?

An increase in the fluids (alcohol) within cell membranes.
--> disrupts membrane processes and the ability of ions to pass through them.

What is the Ligand-Gated Receptor?

A receptor where ion flow only occurs when the receptor is activated by a neurotransmitter or pure agonist.

What is Metabolic Tolerance?

Develops as a result of increased rates of drug metabolism.

What is Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide?

A rate-limiting coenzyme involved in alcohol metabolism.

What is Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRP)?

A form of treatment for nicotine dependence where controlled doses of nicotine are administered through gums, lozenges, or transdermal patches.

What are Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors?

A subtype of the acetylcholine receptor constructed from a number of subunits referred to as alpha 2 through 10 and beta 2 through 4.
--> Controls channels for either Na+, K+, or Ca++.

What is N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA)?

A subtype of the glutamate receptor.
--> believed to be involved in long-term potentiation.

What is P450 (Cytochrome P450)?

The liver enzyme that is essential in oxidative metabolic reactions.
--> Many drugs are metabolized by this.

What does Proof mean?

A measure of the amount of alcohol in a beverage or spirit.
--> exactly twice the percent alcohol (50 percent alcohol = 100 proof)

What is Purine?

A structural component of the adenosine molecule that resembles the form of caffeine.