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PMCOL 305 > 2 - Brain > Flashcards

2 - Brain Flashcards

1
Q

striatolimbic reward circuit

A
  • main target for drugs of abuse
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2
Q

reward circuit

A
  • controls hedonic tone, attention, expectancy of reward, disconformation of reward expectancy and incentive motivation
  • reinforces survival behaviours (feeding, drinking, sex, social interactions)
  • drugs hijack this circuit and elevate pleasure and reward
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3
Q

hedonic tone

A

trait underlying an individual’s ability to feel pleasure

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4
Q

reward circuit pathway

A
  1. descending myelinated pathway from anterior bed nuclei to ventral tegmental area (VTA) pathway
  2. ascending dopaminergic ventral tegmental area (VTA) to nucleus accumbens (NAc) pathway (feels euphoric)
  3. GABA/subtance P/enkephalinergic nucleus accumbens (NAc) to ventral pallidium pathway
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5
Q

drugs in nucleus accumbens (NAc)

A
  • all addictive drugs increase dopamine levels in NAc

- different drugs will activate reward at different sites

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6
Q

drugs in NAc examples

A
  • cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy will interfere with dopamine re-uptake in the NAc
  • leads to dopamine release
  • nicotine will depolarize VTA dopaminergic neurons
  • leads to release of dopamine downstream
  • opioids, GHB, benzos, cannabinoids hyperpolarize VTA GABAergic interneurons
  • leads to neuron firing more often, therefore dopamine is released more often
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7
Q

nucleus accumbens (NAc) location

A

basal forebrain striatum

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8
Q

nucleus accumbens (NAc) function

A

-pleasure centre

  • motivation
  • cognitive processing of aversion
  • reward/reinforcement of drug taking
  • translating of emotional stimulus into behaviour and action
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9
Q

nucleus accumbens (NAc) projections

A
  • reciprocal projections with VTA, PFC, amy, hippo, BG

- pleasure, planning, and inhibition of behaviour via PFC, brainstem, BG projections

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10
Q

ventral tegmental area (VA) location

A

midbrain

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11
Q

ventral tegmental area (VA) function

A
  • cognition
  • motivation
  • locomotion
  • main driver of rewarding feelings
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12
Q

ventral tegmental area (VA) projections

A

reciprocal projections with NAc, amy, RN, PFC, BG, etc.

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13
Q

prefrontal cortex (PFC) location

A

frontal lobe but extends into medial regions

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14
Q

prefrontal cortex (PFC) function

A
  • self-awareness
  • planning
  • problem solving
  • leaning
  • memory
  • executive function
  • personality
  • decision making
  • social behaviour
  • dysfunction linked with mental conditions
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15
Q

prefrontal cortex (PFC) projections

A
  • projections to VTA and amy expression of behaviours trained by chronic drug abuse
  • reciprocal connections with multiple regions involved with attention, action, and cognition
  • integrated in multiple regions
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16
Q

hippocampus location

A

para-saggital plane, behind amy

17
Q

hippocampus function

A
  • memory formation
  • processing nove/contextual info
  • neuronal stem cells suppressed by drugs (affects long-term memory)
18
Q

hippocampus projections

A

VTA that modulate plasticity and learning/memory

19
Q

amygdala function

A
  • emotions (most disabling symptom in addicts)
  • learning/memory
  • reward
  • attention
  • associate cues with drug consumption, conditioning, and reinstatement
20
Q

amygdala projections

A

disrupted connection with VTA with drug abuse (amy permits emotional regulation, PFC is in charge of decision making)

21
Q

caudate nucleus (CN) function

A
  • voluntary movement
  • learning
  • memory
  • sleep
  • pain
  • social behaviour
  • drug accumulation due to the ability to bind transporters
22
Q

caudate nucleus (CN) projections

A
  • VTA, NAc, hippo, amy

- lesions alter chronic effects

23
Q

locus coeruleus (LC) location

A

dorsal pons (in front of cerebellum)

24
Q

locus coeruleus (LC) function

A
  • arousal
  • cognition/memory
  • sleep/wake
  • attention
  • emotion
  • stress
  • regulates withdrawal symptoms
25
Q

locus coeruleus (LC) projections

A
  • VTA, brainstem, cerebellum, thalamus, hypoth, hippo, amy, BG, cortex, spine
  • LC and norepinephrine afferents are modulated by kappa opioid receptor activation
26
Q

raphe nuclei (RN) location

A

dorsal medulla oblongata, and multiple nuclei

27
Q

raphe nuclei (RN) function

A

regulate mood, emotion, aggression, sleep, anxiety, memory, appetite, pain, and temp.

28
Q

raphe nuclei (RN) projections

A
  • hypoth, limbic system, brainstem, spine
  • nuclei and forebrain projections are targets of alcohol, opioids, MDMA, etc.
  • RN to PFC projections have shown that RN is linked in neuropsychiatric disorders (OCD, ADHD, schizo)
29
Q

VTA to NAc

A

dopaminergic projections are the core of the reward circuit

30
Q

euphoria in drugs

A

lost in time bc of the removal of receptors

31
Q

PFC inputs

A

core of anticipation circuits

32
Q

amy inputs

A

core of reinstatement/relapse circuits

33
Q

reinstatement vs relapse

A
  • reinstatement is drug-seeking behaviour

- relapse is returning to drug taking

34
Q

neuroplasicity

A

ability of the brain to form new connection, change wiring patterns and establish new pathways

35
Q

action potential

A

nerve fires (transmitters released) as dendrites or soma reach their threshold

36
Q

repeated firing

A

long-term changes will occur due to molecular signalling and transcriptional changes

37
Q

goal-directed circuits

A
  • occasional recreational use to impulsive use to habitual compulsive use
  • reward-driven changes to goal-driven drug-seeking behaviour
  • ventral striatum-to-dorsal striatum-mediated shift in control of-drug-seeking behaviour
38
Q

dependance and addiction

A
  • not the same, but highly related
  • many drugs induce dependence without addiction
  • dependance is triggered by tolerance/withdrawl
  • addiction is triggered by reward circuit activation

PMCOL 305 (8 decks)

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