Chapter 11: Drug Use & Drug Addiction Flashcards
Drugs that influence subjective experience and behavior by acting on the nervous system.
Psychoactive drugs.
Four (4) ways drugs can be administered.
- Oral ingestion
- Injection
- Inhalation
- Absorption through mucous membranes.
Breakdown products of the body’s chemical reactions.
Metabolites.
Injection; into the fatty tissue just beneath the skin (most common).
Subcutaneously (SC).
Injection; into the large muscles.
Intramuscularly (IM).
Injection; directly into veins, most drug-addicted persons prefer this route, delivers drugs directly to the brain.
Intravenously (IV).
Through the network of capillaries in the lungs; e.g. anesthetics (tobacco).
Inhalation.
With nose, mouth, and rectum; commonly self-administered.
Absorption.
Four (4) mechanisms of drug action.
- Diffuse on neural membranes throughout the CNS (e.g. alcohol).
- Bind to particular synaptic receptors.
- Influence the synthesis, transport, release, or deactivation of certain neurotransmitters.
4 Influence the chain of chemical reactions elicited in postsynaptic neurons by activation of their receptors.
The conversion of a drug from its active form to a non-active form.
Drug metabolism.
A state of decreased sensitivity to a drug that develops as a result of exposure to it.
Drug tolerance.
One drug can produce tolerance to other drugs that act by the same mechanism.
Cross tolerance.
Increasing sensitivity to a drug.
Drug sensitization.
Tolerance that results from a reduction in the amount of a drug getting to its sites of action.
Metabolic tolerance.
Drug tolerance that results from changes that reduce the reactivity of the sites of action to the drug.
Functional tolerance.
The illness brought on by the elimination from the body of a drug on which the person is physically dependent.
Withdrawal syndrome.
Withdrawal syndrome severity depends on three (3) factors, which are?
- Drug in question
- Duration and degree of drug exposure
- Speed the drug is eliminated
Habitual drug users who continue to use a drug despite its adverse effects on their health, social life, and despite their repeated efforts to stop using it.
Drug-addicted individuals.
Major psychoactive ingredient of tobacco.
Nicotine.
The chest pain, labored breathing, wheezing, coughing, and heightened susceptibility to infections of the respiratory tract commonly observed in tobacco smokers.
Smoker’s syndrome.
Chronic inflammation of the bronchioles of the lungs.
Bronchitis.
Loss of elasticity of the lung from chronic irritation.
Emphysema.
An agent that can disturb the normal development of the fetus»_space; increases likelihood of miscarriage, stillbirth, and early death of a child.
Teratogen.
Neuropsychological disorder characterized by memory loss, sensory and motor dysfunction, and, in its advanced stages, severe dementia. Can also be (indirectly caused) by inducing thiamine deficiency.
Korsakoff’s syndrome.
Major cause of death for most alcohol users. Extensive scarring of the liver.
Liver cirrhosis.
Offspring of mothers who consume substantial quantities of alcohol during pregnancy can develop ______ causing brain damage, intellectual disability, poor coordination, poor muscle tone, low birth weight, retarded growth, and/or physical deformity.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
Drugs whose primary effect is to produce general increases in neural and behavioral activity; stimulants differ greatly in their potency.
Stimulants.
Most widely misused stimulants. Consumed orally in the potent form d-amphetamine (dextroamphetamine).
Some effects are similar to cocaine»_space; ex: can produce a syndrome of psychosis called amphetamine psychosis.
Amphetamine.
Relative of amphetamine drugs. Smokeable, crystalline form (crystal meth).
Methamphetamine.
Taken orally. Another potent relative of amphetamine.
Also known as ecstasy.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
Psychoactive drugs that produce feelings of empathy and benevolence towards others.
Empathogen.
Dried form of sap exuded by the seedpods of the opium poppy; have several psychoactive ingredients; most notable are morphine and codeine (weaker)»_space; these are opioids.
Opium.
Synthesized w/2 acetyl groups added to the morphine molecule. More potent analgesic than morphine. Less likely to induce nausea and vomiting.
Heroin.
Made it illegal to sell or use opium, morphine, or cocaine; but did not include the semisynthetic opioid heroin.
The Harrison Narcotics Act (1914).
Ban of tobacco smoking in China. Increase of opium. Smoking opium had greater effect than eating it; many people became addicted.
1644.
Wave of intense abdominal, orgasmic pleasure that evolves into a state of serene, drowsy euphoria.
Heroin rush.
Anticipated pleasure associated with an action - (“wanting the drug”).
Positive-incentive value.
Amount of pleasure that is actually experienced - (“liking the drug”).
Hedonic value.
Addictions develop when drug use sensitizes the neural circuits mediating wanting of the drug.
Incentive-sensitization theory.
Associated with ”wanting” the drug.
Nucleus accumbens (where dopamine releases).
Area known for habit formation and retention.
Dorsal striatum.
A general inability to experience pleasure in response to natural reinforcers.
Anhedonia.
Three (3) different causes of relapse.
- Stress
- Drug priming – single exposure to the formally misused drug
- Exposure to cues – people, time, places, or objects
The time-dependent increase in cue-induced drug craving and relapse.
Incubation of drug craving.
