AVS 2211 Drugs and Society Midterm 1 Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from AVS 2211 Drugs and Society Midterm 1 review notes.

Drug

Any substance, natural or artificial, other than food, that by its chemical nature alters structure or function in the living organism.

Illicit Drug

A drug that is unlawful to possess or use.

Deviant Drug Use

Drug use that is not common within a social group.

Drug Misuse

The use of prescribed drugs in greater amounts than, or for purposes other than, those prescribed by a health care professional such as a physician.

Drug Addiction

Drug use that interferes with important life functions like health, parenting, work, and intimate relationships.

Physiological Toxicity

A drug that causes poisonous, deadly, or dangerous effects in high concentrations on the body.

Behavioral Toxicity

Behavior created by a drug that is potentially dangerous to the user or others.

Acute Toxicity

Clinical symptoms of drug toxicity that come on suddenly.

Chronic Toxicity

Toxicity resulting from long-term exposure that can be present whether or not the substance is presently in the system.

Tolerance

A condition where repeated exposure to a drug lessens its effects, requiring the body to need more to achieve the desired effect.

Physical Dependency

A state characterized by the presence of a withdrawal syndrome when the substance is discontinued or reduced.

Psychologic Dependency

A condition where repetitive action results in reward, such as escape from discomfort or pain.

1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act

Act that prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs or medicines, and liquors.

1914 Harrison Narcotics Act

Act that taxed and regulated the production, importation, and distribution of opium and coca products.

Phase One Clinical Investigation

Uncontrolled studies that test a new drug in healthy research participants and patients primarily to evaluate safety.

Phase Two Clinical Investigation

Human drug studies involving patients who have the condition the candidate drug is designed to treat to determine effectiveness.

Phase Three Clinical Investigation

Studies administering a drug to large numbers of individuals (300-3,000) afflicted with the intended disease to evaluate both safety and effectiveness.

Orphan Drug

A medication developed under incentives created by law to treat rare diseases.

Off-label Use

When the FDA allows a drug company to distribute information to physicians about uses for a medication other than its initial intended condition.

Homeostasis

The body's efforts at staying the same by keeping biological factors maintained at or near certain levels.

Action Potential

A precise and rapid signal resulting from the opening of ion channels that allow electrically charged particles (ions) to move inside the cell.

Glial Cells

Cells making up 90 percent of the human brain that provide nutrients, eliminate waste, form myelin, and create the blood-brain barrier.

Depolarization

The phase of an action potential where Na+ channels open, allowing Na+ ions to rapidly move across the membrane into the cell.

Hyperpolarization

The phase of an action potential where the membrane potential becomes even more negative than it is at rest.

Somatic Nervous System

System responsible for voluntary movement that carries sensory information to the CNS and motor information out using acetylcholine as its main neurotransmitter.

Autonomic Nervous System

System regulating involuntary, visceral functions, consisting of sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Branch of the autonomic nervous system that typically releases norepinephrine as its neurotransmitter.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Branch of the autonomic nervous system that typically releases acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure.

Acetylcholine

Neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory.

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter responsible for arousal, alertness, initiating food intake, concentration, and contraction of blood vessels.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter involved in mood, wellbeing, happiness, sleep cycle, and digestive regulation.

GABA

Neurotransmitter that calms firing nerves, improves focus, and prevents anxiety.

Glutamate

Excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory, and the creation of nerve contacts.

Chemical Name

Name giving a complete chemical description of a drug molecule derived from the rules of organic chemistry.

Generic Name

The official and legal name of a drug, which is shorter and simpler than its chemical name.

Brand Name

A simple and meaningful name chosen by a manufacturer, often based on the drug's indicated therapeutic use.

Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR)

A comprehensive digital resource providing detailed, FDA-approved prescribing information and color photographs of legally manufactured pharmaceuticals.

ED50

The drug dosage at which intended therapeutic effects are exhibited for 50 percent of the study group.

LD50

The drug dose that is lethal for 50 percent of the study group.

Therapeutic Index (TI)

Defined as $\frac{\text{LD}_{50}}{\text{ED}_{50}}$, a ratio comparing a drug's effective dose to its toxic dose to measure its relative safety.

Potency

The amount of a drug that must be given to obtain a particular response.

Pharmacokinetic Tolerance

Tolerance resulting from reduced drug availability in the body due to increased metabolism or excretion, such as increased CYP450 enzyme activity.

Behavioral Tolerance

Tolerance where the drug continues to produce the same biochemical effect but yields a reduced effect on behavior.

Pharmacodynamic Tolerance

Tolerance occurring when the sensitivity of neurons to the drug's effect decreases.