Drugs And Addiction Flashcards
Effinity
The tendency of a drug to activate the receptor it binds onto
Antagonist
Drug that blocks a neurotransmitter
Agonist
Drug that mimics/increases the effects of a neurotransmitter
Tolerance
Homeostatic mechanism by which the nervous system decreases the number of active postsynaptic receptors in response to higher than normal levels of a substance
Nucleus accumbens
Place that gives you pleasure; releases dopamine or norepinephrine
Central to reinforcing experiences
Craving
An insistent search for the activity
Low reward salience
Person needs more pleasure/drug to feel the same amount of reward
Low D2 receptors = low reward salience
Priming
You start to crave the drug/addiction when something makes you think about it
Bet you can’t eat just one
Withdrawal
Body reacts strongly when drug is absent
Margin of safety
Margin between having a good time and the dependence potential
Dependence potential
How likely you are to become a habitual user
Korskoff’s syndrome
Due to thiamine deficiency; brain hemorrhage a cause severe anterograde amnesia
Cirrhosis
Scaring of liver
Type II alcoholism
Rapid onset, usually before 25, often in men with a family history of alcoholism
Type I alcoholism
Develop problems gradually, usually after 25, depends on a stressful life and less on genetics, less severe
