drugs Flashcards
Describe PCP
PCP is a recreation drug commonly known as angel dust. It comes in the form of powder, pills or a liquid form and therefore can be snorted, injected or smoked. It has an impact on the brain and therefore behaviour within 2-5 minutes. It is a class A drug so it is illegal to have for yourself or someone else. Can lead to 7 years in prison.
What does PCP cause
It change change your perception of reality, time can speed up or slow down. Can make you feel really happy but also down and panicky. Can believe things that aren’t true. Can lead to aggression and violence.
a low dosage of PCP causes
euphoria, relaxation, numbness, anxiety and detachment from your own body
a medium dosage of PCP can cause …
confusion, excessive salvation and SZ like symptoms .
a high level of PCP can cause
seizures, respiratory failure, stroke, death, users can cut themselves or kill themselves when under the influence.
which NT does PCP effect
dopamine, opioids, serotonin and glutamate
how does PCP work
it inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and dopamine increasing the prescience of the NT in the synaptic gap. it blocks glutamate receptors NMDA and reduce the impact of glutamate.
why do people become addicted to pcp
tolerant and dependent of it because it increase dopamine levels in the brain which stimulates the reward centre.
what is desensitisation
overtime the neurone will become damaged because of overstimulation. this leads to addiction because more dopamine will be require to stimulate the neuron to a normal level.
give research to support. how good.
A study on monkeys who were taught how to administer PCP for themselves found that it lead to aggressive gestures such as lunging toward one another and interacting behaviours such as vocalising and pacing around. Then monkeys were transferred into new cages and reintroduced to the rest of the pack. There was a significant increase in self administration of PCP. Supporting that the drug can lead to dependence when feeling stress or anxious.
High reliability as animal studies have low demand characteristics and can be replicated to test the consistency.
However lacks generalisability because they’re animals, different biological anatomy. Not as complex so the drug may have different effects on monkeys compared to humans.
give details of cocaine
and relieve fatigue and hunger. It can be swallowed, smoked or snorted; in general the effects last about 15-30 minutes and last for30-40 minutes give the users experiences of euphoria, self-confidence, energy and alertness. There is a ‘crash’ when the drug wears off and the pleasurable affects make it highly addictive.
how does cocaine affect transmission
works on the reward pathway ie dopamine. binds to the receptors preventing the reuptake of the NT and increases dopamine in the synaptic gap.The group of neurons thus modified produces much more dependency (from dopamine), feelings of confidence (from serotonin), and energy (from norepinephrine) typically experienced by people who take cocaine.
how does this cause addiction?
the brain comes to rely on this drug to maintain the high degree of pleasure associated with the artificially elevated levels of some neurotransmitters in its reward circuits. The over stimulation of dopamine receptors of the post-synaptic neuron is that they become damaged and fewer, leading to desensitisation and addiction. The resulting increased sensitivity produces depression
give research to support cocaine. how good
Olds and Milner carried out a study in rats who showed addictive behaviour to stimulating part of the brain responsible for pleasure by electrical impulse. Supporting the idea of the reward centre.
Low generalisability as animal studies.
How can pcp lead to violence
It can take away your pain temporarily so if you get into a fight you won’t stop because you can’t tell that you are hurt and you may not seek medical advice.
It can also stop you thinking clearly so you cannot tell what is real from made up.
