Drugs & Behavior Exam 3

Question 1:
Eating while drinking alcohol _______ its absorption by _______ gastric emptying.
a) increases; slowing down
b) speeds up; increasing
c) slows down; slowing down
d) reduces; increasing
e) None of the above

Question 2:
The first step in the metabolism of alcohol is its conversion to:
a) formaldehyde
b) acetaldehyde
c) acetic acid
d) aldehyde dehydrogenase
e) wine

Question 3:
During withdrawal from chronic alcohol use, an increase in _______ is correlated with an increase in signs of _______.
a) glutamate release; intoxication
b) glutamate release; CNS hyperexcitability
c) receptor inhibition; intoxication
d) receptor inhibition; CNS hyperexcitability
e) glutamate reuptake; CNS inhibition

Question 4:
Repeated exposure to alcohol ___________ GABA release.
a) stimulates
b) inhibits

Question 5:
Blocking opioid receptors _________ alcohol self-administration.
a) reduces
b) increases
c) has no effect on

Question 6:
Oral administration of marijuana:
a) results in a shorter duration of action of the drug than smoking
b) yields low but consistent levels of drug in the body
c) results in a longer duration of action of the drug
d) is an easy way to regulate the amount of drug entering the body

Question 7:
Which statement regarding CB1 cannabinoid receptors is false?
a) It is expressed in many brain regions
b) It is an ionotropic receptor
c) It plays a role in the intoxicating effects of marijuana
d) Presynaptic CB1 receptors on nerve terminals have an inhibitory effect on transmitter release
e) All of the above are true

Question 8:
_______ increases regional brain activation and blood flow in some brain regions, while _______ has the opposite effect.
a) THC; CBD
b) CBD; THC
c) Methylphenidate; hemp
d) Hemp; methylphenidate

Question 9:
The development of tolerance to cannabis involves:
a) desensitization of CB1 receptors
b) down-regulation of CB1 receptors
c) up-regulation of CB1 receptors
d) sensitization of CB1 receptors
e) A and B

Question 10:
Match the brain region to the effect of THC:

Amygdala: panic/paranoia
Basal ganglia: slowed reaction time
Hypothalamus: increased appetite
Nucleus accumbens: euphoria
Hippocampus: impaired memory

Question 11:
All of the following are acute effects of the class of drugs called narcotic analgesics except:
a) drowsiness
b) pain relief
c) diarrhea
d) dulling of negative emotions
e) All of the above are acute opioid effects

Question 12:
One common effect of increasing opiate dose is:
a) euphoria
b) elevated respiration rate
c) increased sex drive
d) increased awareness of one’s surroundings
e) Both A and B

Question 13:
Opiates are dangerous at high doses due mostly to:
a) their effects on cardiac muscle
b) the increased likelihood of a stroke
c) the suppression of the brainstem’s respiratory center
d) an overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system
e) Opiates are safe at high doses

Question 14:
Which of the following is false regarding endogenous opioids and opioid receptors?
a) They stimulate neurotransmission in two ways
b) They block Ca2+ presynaptically
c) They open K+ channels postsynaptically
d) Endogenous opioids are never co-released with other neurotransmitters
e) Both A and D are false

Question 15:
Match the brain region to the acute opioid effect:

Periaqueductal Gray: Analgesia
VTA/NAc: Euphoria
Brain Stem: Respiratory depression
Amygdala/Limbic System: Dulling of negative emotions

Question 16:
Which of the following is not a psychedelic drug?
a) Mescaline
b) LSD
c) 5-HT
d) DMT
e) All of the above ARE psychedelic drugs

Question 17:
What is the mechanism of action of psychedelic mushrooms?
a) After ingestion, psilocybin is converted to psilocin, which is the psychoactive agent.
b) Mescaline is extracted from the mushrooms and consumed as a powder that contains the psychoactive agent.
c) β-carbolines in the mushrooms block DMT breakdown in the liver so the DMT reaches the brain and produces psychedelic effects.
d) The psychoactive substance, salvinorin A, is released when the mushrooms are eaten.

Question 18:
What is responsible for the unusually long length of an LSD “trip”?
a) The subjective feelings of the “trip” last long after the drug has worn off due to memory effects.
b) After receptor binding, a lid-like structure formed from the receptor protein temporarily traps the drug in the binding pocket.
c) The receptor binding process slows down such that the drug effects last longer than usual.
d) The drug’s potency combined with its fast metabolism results in a long “trip.”

Question 19:
Alcohol increases synaptic levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens by _______.
a) blocking the reuptake of dopamine by transporters
b) increasing the firing rate of cells in the VTA
c) inhibiting the metabolism of dopamine in the synaptic cleft
d) decreasing the action of autoreceptors that normally decrease release

Question 20:
THC is less reinforcing than opioids and other highly abused drugs because _______.
a) it interacts closely with the endogenous opioid system
b) it stimulates dopamine release in the Nacc
c) THC is only a partial agonist at the CB1 receptor
d) THC is an antagonist at the CB1 receptor

Question 21:
Brain imaging studies of long-term cannabis users have found _______.
a) reduced gray matter volume in several brain areas
b) up-regulation of central CB1 receptors in many areas of the brain
c) reduced DA cell firing in the mesolimbic system

Question 22:
How is Salvinorin A different from most of the other psychedelic drugs?
a) it is a 5-HT₂A antagonist
b) it has a molecular structure similar to norepinephrine c) it is a κ-opioid receptor agonist d) it can only be taken orally

Question 23: Studies of reinforcement suggest that opioid drugs produce their effects by inhibiting a) dynorphin b) dopamine c) GABA d) β-endorphin

Question 24: PCP and ketamine are a) partial agonists at 5-HT₂A receptors b) un-competitive antagonists at NMDA receptors c) allosteric modulators at NMDA receptors d) agonists at κ-opioid receptor

Question 25: Which of the following is not an abnormality found in the brain of schizophrenic patients? a) cerebral atrophy b) increased connectivity between brain regions c) disorganized hippocampal cells d) ventricle enlargement

Question 26: Which model of schizophrenia was suggested by the fact that amphetamine users experience psychotic symptoms that could be reversed by DA antagonists? a) dopamine hypothesis b) DA imbalance hypothesis c) neurodevelopmental model d) hypoglutamate hypothesis

Question 27: The effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs is due to a) blockage of many different receptor types b) anticholinergic action c) dopamine receptor antagonism d) all of the above

Question 28: If inheritance plays a role in the risk of developing an affective disorder, the concordance rate will be highest in a) fraternal twins b) identical twins c) non-twin immediate family members

Question 29: Which class of antidepressant drugs elevates the amount of monoamine neurotransmitters available for release? a) SSRIs b) SNRIs c) MAOIs d) TCAs

Question 30:
PCP and ketamine act on the postsynaptic cell by:
a) blocking the NMDA receptor at the glutamate site
b) stimulating the receptor where NMDA normally binds
c) acting as a competitive antagonist at the NMDA receptor
d) acting as an uncompetitive antagonist at the NMDA receptor
e) Both B and D

Question 31:
A secondary consequence of NMDA receptor antagonism is _______ presynaptic glutamate release, which may result from _______ of receptors on inhibitory GABAergic interneurons that innervate the cortical neurons.
a) decreased; blockade
b) decreased; opening
c) increased; blockade
d) increased; opening
e) none of the above

Question 32:
Which hypothesis was developed after it was shown that the effects of high doses of ketamine are similar to symptoms of schizophrenia?
a) A major factor in schizophrenia is hypoactivity of the glutamatergic system, particularly NMDA receptor signaling
b) A major factor in schizophrenia is 5-HT2A_{2A}2A receptor down-regulation
c) A major factor in schizophrenia is hypoactivity of the serotonergic system due to 5-HT inhibition
d) A major factor in schizophrenia is decreased dopaminergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex
e) All of the above

Question 33:
Self-administration studies in animals have shown that:
a) both PCP and ketamine are highly reinforcing for several species
b) PCP and ketamine are not rewarding for the species tested
c) the reward effects of PCP and ketamine are unique and not dependent upon dopamine
d) PCP’s reward effects are dopamine-dependent, while ketamine’s effects are dopamine-independent
e) Both B and C

Question 34:
A change observed in the brains of people with schizophrenia is:
a) enlarged volume of the temporal lobe and limbic structures
b) shrinkage of the ventricles
c) increase in definition of selected cortical layers
d) disorganized arrangement of hippocampal cells
e) All of the above

Question 35:
Which model of schizophrenia integrates the neurochemical data with the neuroanatomical findings concerning the disorder?
a) The dopamine hypothesis
b) The glutamate-dopamine model
c) The DA imbalance hypothesis
d) The neurodevelopmental model
e) All of the above

Question 36:
Which of the following is associated with the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia?
a) Cognitive functions are most affected by the excess activity in the disinhibited mesolimbic pathway
b) Early damage to the indirect basal ganglia pathway results in the negative symptoms of schizophrenia
c) High mesolimbic DA activity following mesocortical cell loss may explain the dramatic positive symptoms of schizophrenia
d) The model attempts to identify the cause of the proposed early mesocortical cell loss
e) All of the above

Question 37:
Which statement about glutamate and DA in regard to symptoms associated with schizophrenia is true?
a) Overabundance of glutamate at the NMDA receptor may be a precursor to DA dysfunction and may explain increases in mesolimbic DA and decreases in PFC function
b) Insufficient glutamate at the NMDA receptor may be a precursor to DA dysfunction and may explain increases in mesolimbic DA and decreases in PFC function
c) NMDA receptors have indirect excitatory effects on midbrain mesolimbic DA neurons that project to limbic regions
d) Schizophrenic symptoms are due to increased DA function in mesocortical neurons along with reduced DA function in mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons
e) Both C and D are true

Question 38:
Match the antipsychotic drug effect to the DA pathway it is related to:

Effects on positive symptoms: mesolimbic pathway
Effects on cognitive and negative symptoms: mesocortical pathway
Motor side effects: nigrostriatal pathway
Neuroendocrine side effects: tuberohypophyseal pathway

Answer: All answers are correct as stated.

Question 39:
The effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in reducing positive symptoms is due to:
a) blockage of many different receptor types
b) anticholinergic action
c) dopamine receptor antagonism
d) 5-HT receptor antagonism
e) All of the above

Question 40:
Which of the following is true regarding the monoamine hypothesis of depression?
a) Depression is associated with low levels of monoamines
b) Depression is associated with high levels of monoamines
c) The model explains depression perfectly
d) Lowering levels of monoamines always produces depression
e) Increasing monoamine levels always alleviates depression

Question 41:
Most antidepressants _______ 5-HT by _______ reuptake through SERT.
a) increase, increasing
b) increase, blocking
c) decrease, increasing
d) decrease, blocking

Answer: b) increase, blocking the reuptake of serotonin, which enhances its availability in the synaptic cleft and contributes to improved mood and emotional regulation.