Definitions Flashcards
Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter produced by neurons whose cell bodies are in the nucleus basalis of Meynert. Acetylcholine binds to nicotinic and muscarinic receptors and is involved with learning and memory.
Affective disorder
A mood disorder, such as depression, dysthymia, or bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder.
Agonist
A drug that interacts with a receptor such that the receptor responds in the same manner that it would when interacting with its own naturally occurring neurotransmitter.
Antagonist
A drug that prevents a receptor from performing its normal function.
Anxiolytic
A drug that is used for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Barbiturates
Little used sedative-hypnotics with a low therapeutic index that affect the GABA1 receptor.
Benzodiazepines
Sedative-hypnotics used for the treatment of some anxiety disorders and alcohol withdrawal.
Central nervous system
The portion of the nervous system comprising the brain and spinal cord.
Cytochrome P450 system
A system of enzymes located primarily in the liver but also the small intestine that is involved in the metabolism of numerous drugs. Many drugs also can inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes, potentially creating drug-drug interactions.
Dependence
The physical or psychological need to continue to take a drug. Physical dependence can result in a withdrawal syndrome when the drug is reduced or discontinued abruptly, whereas psychological dependence results in a craving for the drug.
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter found in the tuberoinfundibular, nigrostriatal, and mesocorticolimbic brain pathways and involved in addition, brain-reward systems, psychosis, and movement.
Dose-response curve
The concentration of a drug on the x-axis plotted against the drug’s effect on the y-axis. The resulting curve may be concave, linear, or sigmoid in shape and can provide important information about the dose of a drug and its clinical response.
Drug
A chemical that alters physiological function.
Drug toxicity
The development of unwanted effects from a drug.
Endorphin
An endogenous opiate.
Enkephalin
An endogenous opiate.
Gamma aminobutyric acid
The brain’s major inhibitory neurotransmitter.
Glial cell
A non-neuron class of brain cell outnumbering neurons approximately ten to one involved in numerous functions including, depending upon the type of glial cell, myelin production, formation of part of the blood-brain barrier, and immune response.
Glutamate
The brain’s major excitatory neurotransmitter.
Half-life
The amount of time required for 50 percent of a drug to be eliminated from the body. As a general rule, four or five half-lives of a drug are needed before the drug can be considered cleared from the body.
Hallucinogen
A class of drugs including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) that can produce hallucinations and alterations in consciousness at doses not otherwise toxic.
Ion
An atom with either a positive or negative charge.
Monoamine oxidase
An enzyme involved in the breakdown of the monoamines, such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
Neurogenesis
The production of new neurons.
Neuron
A specialized cell that processes and transmits information.
Norepinephrine
A neurotransmitter produced in neurons whose cell bodies are in the locus coeruleus. Norepinephrine is involved in attention and mood regulation.
Partial agonist
A drug with relatively weak affinity for a receptor that under conditions of high concentrations of the receptor’s naturally occurring neurotransmitter acts as an antagonist by preventing full access of the neurotransmitter to the receptor, while under conditions of low concentrations of the naturally occurring neuro-transmitter acts as an agonist due to its weak affinity for the receptor and relative absence of the naturally occurring neurotransmitter.
Peripheral nervous system
The part of the nervous system that is located outside of the brain and spinal cord.
Prolactin
A hormone produced by the pituitary gland involved in lactation and regulated in part by dopamine in the tuberoinfundibular pathway.
Psychopharmacology
The science and clinical discipline of the effects of drugs on brain function and behavior.
Psychotropic drug
A chemical affecting brain structure or function, as well as behavior.
Receptor
A three-dimensional structure found in the cell membrane or in some cases intracellularly that can bind to drugs, neurotransmitters, peptides, or hormones. Receptors are often named after the neurotransmitters with which they bind.
Reuptake
The process by which a neurotransmitter is taken back into the presynaptic neuron from which it came.
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter produced by neurons whose cell bodies are in the raphe nuclei in the brainstem. Serotonin is implicated in a variety of functions and conditions, including mood regulation, psychosis, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Steady state
The condition of relatively constant drug concentrations in the body obtained when the amount of drug coming into the body equals the amount cleared from the body.
Tau proteins
Proteins found in normal neurons where they function in intracellular transport. Tau proteins also form neurofibrillary tangles in neurons of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Tolerance
The need for higher doses of a drug to maintain the same effect or the loss of an effect previously obtained from the same dose of drug.
Neuroscience
the branch of biology that focuses on the body’s nervous system including the brain, attempts to shed light on the effects of drug us and how brain chemistry is changed.
Neurotransmitters
(amine/amino acid) chemical messengers, unconscious level
Nucleus accumbens
Reward center
Neuro Plasticity
The ability of brain to modify its connections or reward itself. Plasticity is maintained throughout life
Cerebrum
Logic, problem solving, language comprehension, and production.
Cerebral cortex
contains sensory input areas (vision, hearing, touch, pressure, temp), motor areas (voluntary movement), and association areas (memories, thought, perception, and language)
Frontal lobe
Moving thinking speaking. Contains motor cortex, broca’s area, frontal association areas.
Broca’s area
Left hemisphere slightly in front of the part of the motor cortex that controls movement of the jaw, lips and tongue. Speech production.
Parietal lobes
Lie directly behind frontal lobes. Reception and processing of touch. Front called somatosensory cortex, touch, pressure, temp, and pain. Awareness of body movement and position at any given moment.
Occipital lobes
Behind the parietal lobes. Reception and interpretation of visual information.
primary visual cortex
The site where vision registers in the cerebral cortex. Eyes are connected to primary visual cortex in both right and left occipital lobes. Backwards, right left, etc.
Temporal lobes
Slightly above ears, used for hearing. Reception and interpretation of auditiory stimuli. Site in the cortex is called primary auditory cortex.
Wernicke’s area
Adjacent to primary auditory cortex in left temporal lobe. Comprehension of spoke word and in formulating coherent written and spoken language.
