Addiction: Explanations of nicotine addiction - Brain neurochemistry

Question 1

Name the neurotransmitter linked to addiction.

Answer 1

Dopamine

Question 2

Name the brain areas linked to addiction.

Answer 2

Ventral Tegmental area
Nucleus accumbens
Pre- frontal cortex

Question 3

Which receptors does nicotine attach to?

Answer 3

nACh
Or
nAChR

Question 4

How long does nicotine take to activate the reward pathway?

Answer 4

Less than 10 seconds

Question 5

What is nAChR?

Answer 5

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Question 6

Which receptors of the nucleus accumbens do neurotransmitters attach to?

Answer 6

D2

Question 7

Which pathway is nucleus accumbens in?

Answer 7

Mesolimbic pathway

Question 8

What does VTA stand for?

Answer 8

Ventral tegmental area

Question 9

What does activation of the nucleus accumbens lead to?

Answer 9

Euphoria
Increased alertness
Decreased anxiety

Question 10

Activation of the nucleus accumbens reduces which emotion?

Answer 10

Anxiety

Question 11

What three things are increased by activating the nucleus accumbens?

Answer 11

Euphoria
Alertness
Motivation

Question 12

The nucleus accumbens is the …. Pathway the pre-frontal cortex is in the …. Pathway

Answer 12

Mesolimbic

Mesocortical

Question 13

Which brain area is linked to decision making?

Answer 13

Pre-frontal cortex

Question 14

Which brain area is linked to motivation?

Answer 14

Nucleus accumbens

Question 15

Which brain area has a large concentration of dopamine neurons?

Answer 15

Ventral tegmental area

Question 16

The ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens are in which system in the brain?

Answer 16

Limbic system

Question 17

What is the addictive component in cigarettes?

Answer 17

Nicotine

Question 18

What if the missing word?

Nicotine addiction is due to …. Activation of the brains reward pathway.

Answer 18

Repeated

Question 19

Why is motivation an important aspect of the nucleus accumbens?

Answer 19

It makes the person want to perform the smoking addiction again.

Question 20

What is the pre-frontal cortex responsible for?

Answer 20

Attention so we know how to repeat the behaviour

Question 21

How is the prefrontal cortex linked to addiction?

Answer 21

It results in the person making the decision to smoke again

Question 22

Research to support brain neurochemistry was by McEvoy, studying people with which disorder

Answer 22

Schizophrenia

Question 23

In McEvoy’s study, what drug were patients given?

Answer 23

Haloperidol

Question 24

In McEvoy’s study how does the drug haloperidol work?

Answer 24

Dopamine antagonist
Blocks dopamine receptors
Lowering dopamine activity

Question 25

What does an antagonist drug do?

Answer 25

Lower neurotransmitter levels

Question 26

McEvoy found those patients given haloperidol smoked more, why is this?

Answer 26

They used nicotine to raise their dopamine levels after haloperidol had reduced these levels

Question 27

Why can we criticise McEvoy’s research

Answer 27

Participants had schizophrenia which already affects dopamine functioning. May be hard to generalise findings to non schizophrenic population

Question 28

State which AO3 points you could use for brain neurochemical explanation

Answer 28

Research to support - McEvoy Sample bias of McEvoy Reductionism Practical applications

Question 29

What does the neurochemical explanation reduce nicotine addiction down to?

Answer 29

Dopamine levels in the brain

Question 30

What is the opposite side of reductionism?

Answer 30

Holism

Question 31

What does holism consider?

Answer 31

Cultural and social context

Question 32

What could be holistic explanation for smoking addiction

Answer 32

Peers pressure in adolescence Parental upbringing Cultures having more positive views of smoking

Question 33

What could be a practical application of the neurochemical explanation of smoking addiction?

Answer 33

Development of nicotine replacement therapy

Question 34

How does nicotine replacement therapy work?

Answer 34

Gives individuals nicotine in a less harmful way and over time thus dose gets reduced

Question 35

Nicotine replacement therapy gives people a safe way to have nicotine. What happens to this overtime?

Answer 35

Slowly reduce dosage, reducing tolerance

Question 36

By reducing the dosage of Nicotine replacement therapy over time. What does it reduce?

Answer 36

Tolerance

Question 37

One practical application of the neurochemical explanation of smoking is NRT. What does NRT stand for?

Answer 37

Nicotine replacement therapy

Question 38

How does NRT work?

Answer 38

Gives nicotine in a less harmful way Overtime this dose gets reduced Reducing tolerance

Question 39

What are two ways Nicotine replacement therapy can be given?

Answer 39

Gum Patches

Question 40

State two ways nicotine replacement therapy could be good for the economy.

Answer 40

1) treating people reduced chance of smoking related illness do people can work longer 2) By treating people the NHS won’t have to spend as much on treatment for smoking related illnesses

Question 41

What is meant by upregulation?

Answer 41

Smoking causes an increase in the number of nicotine receptors in the brain

Question 42

Name the two cellular changes that smoking causes

Answer 42

Upregulation and downregulation

Question 43

As the person smokes more what happens to the nicotine receptors?

Answer 43

They increase in numbers

Question 44

Why does the increase in nicotine receptors lead to tolerance?

Answer 44

More nicotine receptors = more nicotine is needed to activate them so the person smokes more

Question 45

What happen to nicotine receptors when the person hasn't smoked for a few hours and what does this lead to?

Answer 45

They become available Withdrawal/cravings

Question 46

Explain down regulation

Answer 46

D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens become less sensitive and reduce in numbers

Question 47

What is the consequence of down regulation?

Answer 47

The person will now need to smoke more to increase dopamine to stimulate the receptors to feel a "buzz"

Question 48

What is the key term for the increase in the number of nicotine receptors as a result of smoking overtime?

Answer 48

Upregulation

Question 49

What is the key term for the decrease in the number of D2 receptors as a result of smoking overtime?

Answer 49

Down regulation