Chapter 5--Psychopharmacology and new drug development

Question 1

Why do people abuse drugs?

Answer 1

Overcome shyness 
rebelliousness
spiritual enlightenment/ self discovery 
Boredom
peer influence
increase self confidence/performance
emotional 
social interaction (most important) 
pleasure
withdrawal symptoms

Question 2

How does Genetics affects drug abuse?

Answer 2

Genetics can affect your initial sensitivity to drugs

Question 3

How does Gender affect drug abuse?

Answer 3

Drugs given to a male or female of the same weight will have a greater effects on females bc of BMI and hormones.

Question 4

How does weight affect drug abuse?

Answer 4

heavier individuals have more blood, more fat, and more body fluids

Question 5

what is used to compute drug dose?

Answer 5

body weight

Question 6

How does age affect drug abuse?

Answer 6

Children and the elderly are more sensitive to drugs bc metabolite enzymes are either underdeveloped or impaired

Question 7

4 aspects to sensation seeking or risk taking

Answer 7

thrill and adventure seeking
experience seeking
disinhibition
Boredom susceptibility

Question 8

what psychological affects do drug expectancy beliefs have on drug abuse?

Answer 8

History of experience with drugs, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and expectancies about drugs influence unique, individual responses to drugs.

Question 9

What psychological affects does stress have on drug abuse?

Answer 9

significant factor in coping, escaping, and forgetting.

Question 10

Is there a personality type common to individuals with substance abuse disorders?

Answer 10

There is not much evidence for this. There are considerable personality differences among substance abusers. although people can be predisposed due to genetics.

Question 11

Environmental factors in drug abuse

Answer 11

include government laws about drug use, economics, and drug availability. Ex: people won’t take drugs if they are too expensive.

Question 12

How does setting affect drug abuse?

Answer 12

This is a huge factor. It is particularly important for alcohol, marijuana, and hallucinogen abuse.

Question 13

Dispositional tolerance

Answer 13

increase in the rate of metabolism so the user has to consume more of the drug to maintain a certain level of drug in their system.

Question 14

Behavioral/learned tolerance

Answer 14

adjustment to behavior through experience in using a drug to compensate for its intoxicating effects.

Question 15

Cross tolerance

Answer 15

Someone who has developed tolerance to one drug may also have tolerance to another drug with a similar mechanism of action even if they have never taken that drug before Ex alcohol and anesthetics

Question 16

reverse sensitization

Answer 16

enhanced sensitization or response to a drug with repeated use of it. ex cocaine

Question 17

Functional tolerance

Answer 17

Also known as pharmacodynamic tolerance. becoming less sensitive to the drug with regular use.

Question 18

tachyphylaxis

Answer 18

rapid increase or decrease in effect with a second dose. Ex. cocaine with increased effect

Question 19

Protracted Tolerance

Answer 19

occurs over the course of two or more times of taking the drugs.
the user must consume higher doses to achieve the effect that was once achieved with a smaller dose.
most involved in actual drug dependence.

Question 20

Cell adaptation theory

Answer 20

Also known as the homeostasis Hypothesis.

Cell adapt to the presence of the drug to maintain homeostasis. It requires more drug to break cell functioning.

Question 21

Down regulation

Answer 21

Caused by repeated exposure to a drug. A reduction in the number of receptor sites on neurons that the drugs activate.

Question 22

Opponent Process Theory

Answer 22

Drug Compensatory reactions and learning.

Question 23

What are the processes that take place in the opponent process theory?

Answer 23

1. the drug effect

2. homeostatic counter-reaction to the drug.

Question 24

Behavioral Pharmacology

Answer 24

The specialty area of psychopharmacology that concentrates on drug use as a learned behavior. governed by the same principles as any other learned behavior.

Question 25

Drug reinforcement

Answer 25

May not be pleasurable. Typically associated with operant responding.

Question 26

reinforcer

Answer 26

a consequence of a behavior that increases the likelihood that it will occur in the future.

Question 27

positive reinforcement

Answer 27

when receiving something, like money or food, results in a likelihood of the behavior it followed.
ex. rats will learn to press a bar for food

Question 28

Negative reinforcement

Answer 28

The likelihood of a behavior increasing to avoid or escape something.

Question 29

Drug reward

Answer 29

associated with the pleasure and euphoria associated with a stimulus

Question 30

Drug Discrimination

Answer 30

a research procedure used to investigate differences in drug effects.

Question 31

Breakpoint

Answer 31

Where its no longer worth it for the user to respond to receive the reward, they have to work too hard.

Question 32

Nuremberg Code

Answer 32

Created after WWII. A basic requirement of the code is that humans should not be involved in drug research without their responsible, voluntary, informed consent.

Question 33

non pharmacological effects of drugs

Answer 33

subjects histories with, beliefs and expectancies about drugs can influence response to drugs.

Question 34

What are three ways that new drugs are discovered?

Answer 34

1. recovery of folk usages of naturally occurring products (like how people use certain drugs for rituals in 3rd world countries)
2. Accidental observation of an unexpected effect of a drug.
3. intelligent design, synthesis of a known or unknown compound