Drugs & Behavior Test 1

Lecture 1

1. Drug Action
   Definition: How a drug works at the molecular level.

2. Specific Drug Effect
   Definition: The intended therapeutic effect of a drug.

3. Non-Specific Drug Effect
   Definition: Drug effects influenced by factors like expectations or mood.

4. Pharmacokinetics
   Definition: How the body processes the drug (ADME).

5. Pharmacodynamics
   Definition: How the drug affects the body (mechanism of action).

6. Advantages of Oral Administration
   Answer: Safe, convenient.

7. Disadvantages of Oral Administration
   Answer: Slow onset, subject to first-pass metabolism.

8. First-Order Kinetics
   Definition: A constant percentage of the drug is metabolized over time.

9. Zero-Order Kinetics
   Definition: A constant amount of drug is metabolized over time.

10. Half-Life
    Definition: Time it takes for 50% of the drug to be eliminated.

11. ED50
    Definition: The dose at which 50% of the population experiences the desired effect.

12. Therapeutic Index (TI)
    Definition: The ratio of TD50 to ED50, indicating the drug's safety margin.

13. Agonist
    Definition: Activates a receptor to produce a biological response.

14. Antagonist
    Definition: Blocks a receptor to prevent its activation.

Lecture 2

1. Astrocytes
   Function: Support neurons and maintain the blood-brain barrier.

2. Oligodendrocytes
   Function: Form the myelin sheath in the CNS.

3. Microglia
   Function: Act as immune cells in the CNS.

4. Dendrites
   Function: Receive signals from other neurons.

5. Ionotropic Receptors
   Definition: Fast-acting, open ion channels directly.

6. Metabotropic Receptors
   Definition: Slower, activate second messengers.

7. EPSP
   Definition: Depolarizes the cell, making it more likely to fire.

8. IPSP
   Definition: Hyperpolarizes the cell, making it less likely to fire.

9. SNARE Proteins
   Function: Help vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane for neurotransmitter release.

10. Autoreceptors
    Function: Inhibit neurotransmitter release by reducing presynaptic cell firing.

Lecture 3

1. HPA Axis
   Definition: A feedback loop that regulates the stress response via cortisol release.

2. Sympathetic Nervous System
   Function: "Fight or flight" responses, uses norepinephrine.

3. Parasympathetic Nervous System
   Function: "Rest and digest" responses, uses acetylcholine.

4. Telencephalon
   Structure: Includes the cerebral cortex, involved in decision-making.

5. Limbic System
   Function: Involved in emotion and memory, includes the amygdala and hippocampus.

Lecture 4

1. Catecholamines
   Examples: Dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine.

2. Dopamine Pathways
   Examples: Mesolimbic (reward), nigrostriatal (movement).

3. Dopamine Receptors
   Definition: D1 & D5 are excitatory, D2, D3, D4 are inhibitory.

4. Norepinephrine Receptors
   Definition: α1 (excitatory), α2 (inhibitory), β1 & β2 (excitatory).

5. Serotonin Receptors
   Definition: 5-HT1A is inhibitory, 5-HT2A is excitatory.

Lecture 5

1. Acetylcholine Precursors
   Answer: Choline and Acetyl-CoA.

2. Nicotinic Receptors
   Definition: Ionotropic acetylcholine receptors.

3. Muscarinic Receptors
   Definition: Metabotropic acetylcholine receptors.

4. Glutamate
   Function: Main excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS.

5. GABA
   Function: Main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS.

Lecture 6

1. DSM-IV Definition of Addiction
   Definition: Compulsive drug-seeking behavior with tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.

2. Substance Use Disorder
   Definition: A continuum of problematic drug use that impairs life.

3. Tolerance
   Definition: Reduced response to a drug after repeated use.

4. Sensitization
   Definition: Increased response to a drug after repeated use.

5. Dopamine Release During Drug Use
   Answer: In the nucleus accumbens.

6. Amygdala
   Function: Drives drug-seeking behavior by causing cravings and withdrawal avoidance.

7. Two Stages of Cognitive Withdrawal
   Answer: Acute withdrawal (physical symptoms) and protracted withdrawal (psychological symptoms).

Lecture 7 & 8

1. Conditioned Place Preference (CPP)
   Definition: A behavioral task to measure drug reward by associating a location with drug use.

2. Self-Administration
   Definition: An animal behavior task where the animal administers the drug to itself, modeling addiction.

3. Tracers
   Function: Used to map connections between brain regions (anterograde and retrograde).

4. In Vivo Microdialysis
   Definition: A method for measuring neurotransmitter levels in live animals.

5. Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry (FSCV)
   Definition: A technique to measure rapid changes in neurotransmitter concentrations in real-time.

6. Types of Brain Scans
   Examples: MRI (structure), fMRI (function), PET (metabolism), CT (structure), EEG (electrical activity).