Drugs and addiction Flashcards
What types of drugs are there? 4
Stimulants (caffeine)
Sedatives and hypnotics (alcohol)
Opiates and opioid (morphine)
Hallucinogenics (LSD)
How is it decided how harmful drugs are?
Physical harm and dependence
What substances are most addicting after single use? (3)
Nicotine – heroin – cocaine
When are you addicted?
- Not being able to stop
- Cravings
- Develop tolerance
- Develop withdrawal symptoms
- Not managing your life
etc.
Why do people use drugs?
Drugs stimulate brain mechanisms that are responsible for positive reinforcement
What is part of the dopaminergic system? (2)
VTA = Ventral Tegmental Area
NAc = Nucleus Accumbens
What is intracranial self-stimulation with a rat with dopamine? Example
Electronics stimulate brain area and dopamine is released when rat presses lever. Rat keeps pressing lever.
What is a reward experiment with male rat? Example
Dopamine level increases in rat when it sees a female. Also before, because it knows there will be a female
Does only dopamine give the effect?
Not just dopamine.
Dopamine is necessary, but not sufficient for reinforcement to take place
What effect does Beta-endorphin give? (3)
Euphoria
Reduce pain
Runner’s high
Which area’s are most involved in reward system in the brain? (2)
VTA and NAc
How do Dopamine and endorphin system work together? alcohol example (4)
1 Gaba reduces activity of dopamine:
2 Alcohol causes Beta-endorphins get released
3 Beta-endorphins inhibit GABA
4 More dopamine is released
What kind of effect can drugs have, and which is the most addictive? (2)
Direct and indirect effect
-Drugs with Direct effect are most addictive
How do drugs cause epigenetic changes?
Transcription of genes is being changed
->Genes being silenced or activated
What is Negative reinforcement?
Negative behaviour causes an aversive stimulus to be reinforced:
- Withdrawal symptoms
- Negative feelings
What are withdrawal symptoms also called?
Compensation reactions
Classical conditioning example dog
Sound + food for dog —> results in dog producing saliva when hearing the sound
Classical conditioning example Insulin
Insulin —> decrease blood sugar level —> produce glucagon to normalize blood suger level
Then use placebo injection instead of insulin —> body produces glucogon even though there is no insulin injected
Why is there more chance of taking an overdose in an unfamiliar environment?
Body does not anticipate what is coming, in a familiar environment is does anticipate
What can long-term drug use cause? (4)
- Changes in brain
- Stress
- Cravings
- Relapse
What are some possible therapies? (3)
Nalexone/naltrexone = block effect of beta-endorphins
Methadone = for heroin addicition
Nicotine gum/plasters = for smoking addiction
What does getting addicted depend on? (2)
Environment
Heredity
What is on list 1 and list 2 of opium wet?
List 1: hard drugs
List 2: soft drugs
