Drug Dependence

Question 1

Depressants

Answer 1

drugs that lower body’s basic functions and neural activity
Heart rate, reaction time etc
Popular one: alcohol
Think more slowly, disrupt REM sleep (and form memories), removes your inhibitions

Question 2

Barbiturates

Answer 2

used to induce sleep or reduce anxiety, depress your CNS
Side effects: reduced memory, judgement and concentration, with alcohol can lead to death (most drugs w/ alcohol are bad)

Question 3

Benzodiazepines

Answer 3

sleep aids or anti-anxiety
Enhances brain response to GABA, opens up GABA-activated chloride channels in neurons and make neurons more negatively charged
3 types: short, intermediate, and long-acting. Short and intermediate are usually for sleep, while long acting are for anxiety

Question 4

Opiates

Answer 4

used to treat pain and anxiety. Ex: Heroine and morphine. NOT a depressant
Used to treat pain because they act at body’s receptor sites for endorphins
Different class than depressants even though overlapping for anxiety, rest act on GABA receptors while opiates act on endorphin Rs
Lead to euphoria, why taken recreationally

Question 5

Stimulants

Answer 5

Range from caffeine to cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and ecstasy. In between is nicotine

Question 6

Caffeine

Answer 6

inhibits adenosine receptors, can disrupt your sleep

Question 7

Nicotine

Answer 7

disrupts sleep and can suppress appetite. Can cause muscles to relax and release stress-reducing neurotransmitters (to counteract hyper alertness), both physiologically addicting, withdrawing symptoms from both: like anxiety, insomnia, irritability

Question 8

Cocaine

Answer 8

Stronger stimulant, releases dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine and depletes brain’s supply. Intense crash and very depressed when it wears off
Regular users experience suspicion, convulsions, respiratory arrest, and cardiac failure

Question 9

Amphetamines and methamphetamines

Answer 9

trigger release of dopamine, euphoria 8 hours, highly addictive and long-term addicts may lose ability to maintain normal level of dopamine

Question 10

Hallucinogens

Answer 10

cause hallucinations, altered perception

Question 11

Ecstasy

Answer 11

synthetic drug stimulant and hallucinogen
Increases dopamine and serotonin and euphoria. Stimulates body’s NS and damages neurons that produce serotonin which moderates mood
Causes hallucinations and heightened sensations like artificial feeling of social connectedness

Question 12

LSD

Answer 12

interferes with serotonin causes people to experience hallucinations (visual instead of auditory)

Question 13

Marijuana

Answer 13

mild hallucinogen, THC which heightens sensitivity to sounds, tastes, smells
Like alcohol reduces inhibitions and impairs motor/coordination skills
Disrupts memory formation and short-term recall
Stays in body up to a week
Used as medicine to relieve pain and nausea

Question 14

PTSD treatment

Answer 14

Allows people to access painful memories from past that’s detached from strong emotions- so they can come to terms with it

Question 15

Homeostasis

Answer 15

maintain temperature, heartbeat, and metabolism
if you take amphetamines body quickly tries to lower heart rate and get back to normal
regular drug user, might take it same time of day
Cocaine addict brain recognizes external cues like room, needles, etc and knows its about to get big does of drug, brain tells body to get head start and lowers HR before you take drugs, why you need higher dose over time
What happens if you get those cues and don’t get drug–> CRASH
New location but take same level of drugs–> overdose

Question 16

Routes of Drug Entry

Answer 16

Oral, injection, inhalation

Question 17

Oral

Answer 17

ingesting something, one of slowest routes because goes through GI tract- half hour

Question 18

Inhalation

Answer 18

breathing or smoking because once you inhale goes straight to brain- 10 seconds

Question 19

Injection

Answer 19

most direct, intravenous means goes right to vein. Takes effects within seconds and can be very dangerous

Question 20

Transdermal

Answer 20

drug is absorbed through skin, ex: nicotine path, drug patch has to be pretty potent and released into bloodstream over several hours

Question 21

Intramuscular

Answer 21

stuck into muscle, can deliver drugs to your system slowly or quickly, quick for example is epipen or vaccines slowly, faster route of entry= more addictive potential

Question 22

Dopamine

Answer 22

first experience pleasure, brain releases this NT

Question 23

Ventral tegmental area (VTA)

Answer 23

dopamine produced here in the midbrain

Question 24

VTA sends dopamine to

Answer 24

Amygdala, nucleus accumbens (controls motor functions), prefrontal cortex (focus attention and planning), and hippocampus (memory formation)

Question 25

Mesolimbic pathway

Answer 25

nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and hippocampus part of this

Question 26

Ventral Tegmental Area

Answer 26

releases dopamine and receptors uptake dopamine- amygdala says this was enjoyable, hippocampus remembers and says lets do it again, and nucleus accumbens says lets take another bite. Prefrontal cortex focuses attention to it
Dopamine goes up and serotonin goes down, responsible for feelings of satiation, less likely to be satiated or content
increased genetic risk

Question 27

Biological Basis

Answer 27

animal models, ex: rats and drug experiment, rats keep increasing dosage or if sick drug + favorite food= avoids it, addictive drug + fav food= wants more
addiction takes over rational mind

Question 28

Tolerance

Answer 28

get used to a drug so you need more of it to achieve the same effect
Ex: took cocaine, lots of dopamine in synapse, post-synaptic neuron has receptors for dopamine

Question 29

Long-term stimulation

Answer 29

can lead to brain shutting down some receptor- same amount of drugs won’t cause same high

Question 30

Withdrawal

Answer 30

period of not having drug
things less strong as cocaine won’t give you as strong of an effect so dopamine levels decrease and you feel depressed, anxious
Will do whatever it takes to get that high
Once you’ve built up tolerance, need drug to feel “normal” again
With time and effort brain can reverse back

Question 31

Drugs

Answer 31

alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, opioids (heroine/morphine), stimulants (cocaine), hallucinogens (LSD), inhalants, and caffeine

Question 32

Intoxication

Answer 32

refers to behavioral and psychological effects on the person, drug-specific ex: “drunk” or “high”

Question 33

Withdrawal

Answer 33

when you stop after using for a prolonged time

Question 34

Substance-induced disorders

Answer 34

disorders of mood (mania/depression), anxiety, sleep, sexual function, psychosis (loss of contact with reality)

Question 35

Substance use disorders

Answer 35

causes real degree of impairment in life, at work, school, or home

Question 36

Treatment Opiates

Answer 36

heroine act at neural receptor site for endorphins to reduce pain and give euphoria, methadone activates opiate receptors but acts more slowly so it dampens the high, reduces cravings eases withdrawal and can’t experience the high because receptors are already filled

Question 37

Treatment Stimulants

Answer 37

tobacco, medications replace nicotine by delivering low levels of nicotine through patch, or deliver chemicals that act on nicotine receptors in brain. prevents release or reuptake of dopamine helps reduce cravings

Question 38

Treatment Alcoholics

Answer 38

meds block receptors in reward system of alcohol, also reduce symptoms of withdrawal, important to prevent relapse during this early stage by minimizing negative symptomsI

Question 39

Inpatient treatment

Answer 39

require residence at hospital or treatment facility

Question 40

Outpatient treatment

Answer 40

can live at home and come in for treatment

Question 41

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Answer 41

addresses both cognitive and behavioral components of addiction, recognize problematic situations and develop more positive thought patterns and coping strategies and monitor cravings - long-lasting!

Question 42

Motivational interviewing

Answer 42

involves working with patient to find intrinsic motivation to change, very few sessions and can be doorway for patient to engage in another treatment

Question 43

Group meetings

Answer 43

AA involve 12-step program- acceptance, surrender, and active involvement in meetings- helpful!

Question 44

Relapse

Answer 44

patient can slip and go back, more addictive substances make relapse more likely, why it’s hard for people to stay clean