Class 9: Substance Use Disorders Flashcards

1
Q

Define Drugs.

A

Chemical compounds that when administered produce a physiological change in the body.

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2
Q

Which type of drugs are most relevant in the context of substance abuse and addiction?

A

Psychoactive drugs which alter mood thought or behaviour.

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3
Q

How do most psychoactive drugs exert their effects?

A

By influencing chemical signaling in the synapse.

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4
Q

What are the three different categories of psychoactive drugs?

A
  1. CNS Depressants
  2. CNS Stimulants
  3. Hallucinogens
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5
Q

What do CNS Depressants do?

A

General suppression and relaxation (including suppressing mental function)

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6
Q

What do CNS Depressents do at low doses vs at high doses?

A

Low Dose: Calming

High Dose: Intoxication leading to sedation, coma or death

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7
Q

What do CNS Stimulants do?

A

Stimulate arousal giving a rapid but temporary boost of energy or clarity.

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8
Q

What do Hallucinogens do?

A

Alter perceptual experience; disturbing reality or cause hallucinations.

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9
Q

Name 3 Examples of CNS Depressants.

A
  1. Alcohol
  2. Opiates (Morphine, Heroin)
  3. Anxiolytics (Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates)
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10
Q

Name 4 examples of CNS Stimulants.

A
  1. Amphetamine (Meth, Speed)
  2. Cocaine
  3. Caffeine
  4. Nicotine
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11
Q

Name 3 Examples of Hallucinogens.

A
  1. Marijuana
  2. LSD
  3. MDMA (ecstasy)
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12
Q

What age group has the highest percent of alcohol drinkers?

A

Young adults (18-24) followed closely by adults (25+)

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13
Q

What age group has the highest percent of cannabis users?

A

Youth (15-24) followed by adults (25-44)

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14
Q

Is opioid use in Canada going up or down?

A

Down thanks to getting it prescribed less.

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15
Q

Define ‘problematic substance use’

A

When someone uses drugs or alcohol in a harmful way that has negative effects on their health and life.

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16
Q

Define Substance Use Disorder.

A

Uncontrolled use of a substance despite harmful consequences

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17
Q

Define Addiction

A

State of uncontrolled drug use that persists in spite of negative consequences

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18
Q

What are the 4 diagnosing categories of DSM-5 for Substance Use Disorders?

A
  1. Impaired Control
  2. Social Impairment
  3. Risky Use of Substance
  4. Pharmacological Criteria
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19
Q

Describe the ‘Impaired Control’ Category of Diagnosing Substance Use Disorders in 4 points.

A
  1. Substance taken in larger amounts or over a larger period of time than intended
  2. Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use
  3. Spends a great deal of time in activities necessary to obtain/use or recover from substance
  4. Craving or strong desire/urge to use substance
20
Q

Describe the ‘Social Impairment’ Category of Diagnosing Substance Use Disorders in 3 points.

A
  1. Recurrent substance use resulting in failure to fulfill major role obligations at work/school/etc
  2. Continued substance use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems
  3. Important social, occupational, or recreational activities given up/reduced because of substance use
21
Q

Describe the ‘Risky Use of Substance’ Category of Diagnosing Substance Use Disorders in 2 points.

A
  1. Recurrent substance use in situations which it is physically hazardous
  2. Substance use continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by substance use
22
Q

Describe the ‘Pharmacological Criteria’ Category of Diagnosing Substance Use Disorders in 2 points.

A
  1. Tolerance, as defined by either:
    a. a need for markedly increased amounts of substance to achieve intoxication OR
    b. markedly diminished effects with continued use of the same amount of substance
  2. Withdrawal as manifested by: characteristic withdrawal syndrome OR substance is taken to avoid withdrawal symptoms
23
Q

How many critieria points do you need to be diagnosed with SUD (at each of the 3 levels) and for what timeframe

A

Mild: 2 to 3 Criteria
Moderate: 4 to 5 Criteria
Severe: 6 or more Criteria
within the last 12 months

24
Q

Define Withdrawal

A

Physical and psychological behaviours that are displayed by an individual with a SUD when the drug use ends (several hours after to possibly several days)

25
Q

Name 11 common symptoms of withdrawal.

A
26
Q

Define Reward

A

Stimuli that are in some way desirable or positive and can ultimately affect behaviour

27
Q

What is the main job of the reward pathway?

A

Make us perform actions that help us survive and to make it easier to do them again.

28
Q

How can certain reward pathways (for example the reward of a delicious meal) be strengthened?

A

Repeated activation

29
Q

What (fundamentally) happens in the brain in the reward pathway?

A
  1. Stimuli occurs
  2. Neurons in the reward pathway will release the NT dopamine
  3. Signals to motor center to make it easier to do this behaviour over and over
30
Q

How was the reward pathway discovered?

A

Olds and Milner in 1954 took a rat. They put electrode in different areas of the brain and allowed the rat to activate that area themself. (intracranial self-stimulation ICCS). The rat ignored other stimuli and stimulated itself to exhaustion.

31
Q

What is the official name of the reward pathway/circuit?

A

Mesocorticolimbic system

32
Q

Where does the reward pathway start?

A

Ventral tegmental area (VTA)

33
Q

What parts are involved in the Mesocorticolimbic Dopamine System?

A
  1. Ventral tegmental area (VTA)
  2. Hippocampus (Hipp)
  3. Nucleus Accumbens (NAc)
  4. Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
34
Q

What happens when dopamine is released to the NAc?

A

The feeling of subjective pleasure

35
Q

What happens when dopamine is released to the Hippocampus?

A

Learned association between the rewarding feeling and the specific stimulus.

36
Q

What happens when dopamine is released to the PFC?

A

Cognitive control necessary to seek/avoid the rewarding stimuli

37
Q

Does every addictive drug affect the reward pathway?

A

Yes!

38
Q

Do addictive drugs release more, less or around the same amount of dopamine as “natural” rewards?

A

Way more.

39
Q

Why does the brain prioritize drugs over other pleasurable stimuli?

A

Because drugs give so much more dopamine the brain prioritizes it over the “lesser” rewards.

40
Q

What makes cocaine very addictive?

A

Users are lured by the “rush” but since its effects are so short-lived, they tend to use the drug over and over again.

41
Q

How long does it take for the cocaine rush when IV injected, Smoked, and Snorted?

A

Injected: 30s
Smoked: 30s
Snorted: 10-15 minutes

42
Q

How long does it take for cocaine to leave the system?

A

2 hours.

43
Q

How does cocaine affect the synapse?

A

Cocaine enters the brain and blocks the dopamine reuptake transporter resulting in dopamine accumulating in the synapse over-stimulating the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system

44
Q

What two ways does tolerance to cocaine work in the synapse?

A
  1. Dopamine receptors are removed from the post-synaptic membrane
  2. Dopamine release from pre-synaptic terminal is reduced
45
Q

Why can cocaine block dopamine reuptake transporter if they are supposed to be unique to their NT?

A

Cocaine is chemically similar to the dopamine molecule which allows it to ‘fit’ into the transporter just enough to get stuck.