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2nd Year: Drugs and the Mind > Behavioural pharmacology > Flashcards

Behavioural pharmacology Flashcards

1
Q

There are 3 phases to clinical trials. What are they?

A
  1. Safety (is it toxic)
  2. Tolerability (what kind of dose is needed)
  3. Efficacy (does it treat the condition)
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2
Q

What are all human and animal behaviours shaped by?

A

Reward.

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3
Q

Give 2 advantages of using humans in drug trials.

A
  1. Focuses directly on the end user

2. Can effectively communicate with the subject

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4
Q

Give 4 disadvantages of using humans in drug trials.

A
  1. Humans lie e.g. about abuse or intake
  2. Risk of the placebo effect
  3. Different lifestyles create different physiological baselines
  4. IQ affects tests for psychoactive drugs
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5
Q

To avoid bias, what kind of trial should be used when testing for drugs?

A

Double-blind trials.

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6
Q

Define a drug screen.

A

A test to see whether a substance has potential as a drug. The test does not prove it will work, only indicative that it might. Behavioural models are often used.

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7
Q

There are 3 types of validity involved in drug screens. List them.

A
  1. Predictive
  2. Face
  3. Construct
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8
Q

Explain predictive validity.

A

Response must be measurable and fulfil prior predictions. This allows for the characterisation of mutant phenotypes.

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9
Q

Explain face validity.

A

Animal behaves in the same way a human is expected to.

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10
Q

What is an endophenotype?

A

The animal equivalent of a human phenotype.

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11
Q

What is the risk with face validity?

A

Anthropomorphism: human characteristics are attributed to animals.

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12
Q

Explain construct validity.

A

Can hypothesise what mechanisms are occurring in the brain.

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13
Q

What is unconditioned behaviour?

A

An automatic response to an environmental stimulus.

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14
Q

What is conditioned behaviour?

A

A cue causes an assumptive response.

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15
Q

What is instrumental conditioning?

A

The cue is an instrument that the subject must interact with, i.e. a lever to self-administer a drug.

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16
Q

Drug screens are only ever purely sensory or purely motor. True or false?

A

False: they can also be sensorimotor, this is when they are mood or cognition based.

17
Q

a) describe the Porsolt test
b) what is it used to test for?
c) what happens in normal animals?
d) what happens after drug administration?

A

a) An animal is placed in a water bath where it cannot touch the bottom and cannot escape.
b) Potential ADs.
c) Normal animals swim around for a bit, realise they cannot get out then float and rest to conserve energy.
d) Potential ADs cause the animals to swim around for much longer than normal.

18
Q

a) describe the Gellar-Seifer test
b) what is it used to test for?
c) what happens in normal animals?
d) what happens after drug administration?

A

a) Pressing a lever in the dark delivers food. Pressing a lever in the light delivers food and an electric shock.
b) Potential AAs (anti-anxiety drugs)
c) The animal learns not to press the lever in the light
d) Potential ADs cause the animal to press the lever in the light regardless of the shock.

19
Q

a) describe the Plus Maze test
b) what is it used to test for?
c) what happens in normal animals?
d) what happens after drug administration?

A

a) The animal is put in a maze in the shape of a plus sign. 2 of the platforms are walled and 2 are not.
b) Potential AAs
c) The animals are afraid of falling from the non-walled platforms and only spend ~20% of their time there
d) Potential AAs apparently reduce the fear of falling and the animal spends up 50% of its time on the non-walled platform

20
Q

a) describe the Morris Water Maze test
b) what is it used to test for?
c) what happens in normal animals?
d) what happens after drug administration?

A

a) Animal is placed into a water bath with an open top. There are obvious landmarks around the room that the animal can see. They must find a hidden platform.
b) Potential amnestic drugs
c) They find the platform and upon re-entering the maze remember how to find it by using the landmarks around the room (place learning in the hippocampus). The test is then repeated with milk (harder to see through) to be sure.
d) Potential amnestics mean the animal forgets how it found the platform in the first place and it swims around aimlessly.

21
Q

Sometimes animals are given drugs to simulate disease. Give 2 examples of this.

A
  1. Mice are given MPTP that destroys dopaminergic neurons as in Parkinson’s
  2. Rats are given PCP that induces psychosis similar to schizophrenia
22
Q

What is the problem with behavioural models? Use the Gellar-Seifer test as an example.

A

They are quite vague: the drug may be acting as an analgesic, so the animal cannot feel the shock, or as an amnestic so it cannot remember its training. Further tests are needed.

23
Q

Define bioavailability.

A

The amount of drug actually utilised by the body.

24
Q

What is pre-pulse inhibition?

A

When warned about a stimulus your response to it is lessened.

25
Q

How is pre-pulse inhibition affected in schizophrenia?

A

It is lessened, warnings have no effect on the response. Schizophrenia has been mapped onto many genes, many of which are involved in pre-pulse inhibition.

26
Q

What affect do anti-schizophrenic drugs have on pre-pulse inhibition?

A

They restore it.

27
Q

What is a drug class?

A

Groups of chemicals with the same biological targets.

28
Q

Which receptor do all hallucinogens (LSD, MDMA, mescaline etc.) affect?

A

5HT2A.

29
Q

Hallucinogens cause serotonin toxicity syndrome. What is that?

A

When serotonin builds up in the synapse leading to excessive body temperatures and muscle degradation.

30
Q

Give the 4 characteristic affects of hallucinogens on animal models.

A
  1. Piano paws
  2. Arched tail
  3. Gurning (lower jaw pulled back)
  4. Splayed back legs
31
Q

Give 6 factors that undermine the validity of behavioural models.

A
  1. Pain
  2. Motor impairment
  3. Amnesia
  4. Dose
  5. Disturbance by random extraneous stimuli
  6. Avoidance response
32
Q

Explain how dose affects the validity of behavioural models.

A

Doses for animals are very different than in humans: 1g of diazepam can cause addiction in mice but humans are only ever given 5mg, it is not relevant to real life.

33
Q

Explain how random extraneous stimuli affect the validity of behavioural models.

A

Animals are easily frightened by unfamiliar sounds/smells etc. which may affect the result.

34
Q

Explain how the avoidance response affects the validity of behavioural models.

A

Tests that cause prolonged stress and must be repeated, e.g. the Morris Water maze, mean that the animal’s behaviour is influenced by panic etc.

2nd Year: Drugs and the Mind (12 decks)

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