5- Psychopharmacology Definitions Flashcards
What is a psychoactive drug?
An exogenous chemical not required for normal functioning, that significantly changes the cellular process of a neuron
What 2 changes can psychoactive drugs cause?
Measurable behavioural and physiological
What do psychoactive drugs pass through?
The blood-brain barrier
Which stages of the neurotransmitter life cycle can psychoactive drugs affect?
All
What is pharmacokinetics?
Study of how a drug travels within the body
4 processes looked at by pharmacokinetics
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Excretion
What is pharmacodynamics?
Study of how a drug affects the body and behaviour
What is drug use?
Taking a psychoactive substance for non-medical purposes
What is drug abuse?
Drug use that leads to problems
What is drug dependence?
The situation where you need more and more of the same drug to give the good feeling
What is efficacy?
A drug’s ability to produce an effect
What is potency?
The amount of drug needed to produce an effect of a certain magnitude
3 ways that psychoactive drugs affect the central nervous system
- Can enhance or reduce production of enzymes so can alter how much neurotransmitter is in the synapse
- Can affect process of neurotransmitter binding and deactivation
- Can facilitate or suppress removal of neurotransmitter from synapse
What effect can a drug have on storage?
Disrupting storage
What effect can a drug have on production?
Convert a precursor