Drugs and Behaviour. Neural Communication and Drug Action.

Question 1

What is Biology psychology? What are they interested in finding out?

Answer 1

The application of biology TO psychology.

• Focuses on biological aspects of our being in relation to psychological functions. For eg: our nervous system and how it’s related to our behaviour.
• We’re interested in the mind processes and behaviour and a biological analysis adds to this understanding.
• We recognise that psychological states such as thoughts and feelings are real, and also that Brain states such as neural activation and signalling are also real. But they’re both very different - we find how these relate to one another.

Question 2

What are the brain basics: Anatomy?

Answer 2

We have 4 main parts of the brain:

Cerebrum:
-this is the largest part of the brain, the part that’s most visible to us. - ‘Cognition’, reasoning, planning, decision-making, complex behaviour.
- It’s split into the Frontal, Parietal, Occipital and Temporal lobes.

Cerebellum: The ‘little brain’ underneath at the back. The function is the coordination of behaviour: posture, balance, and walking.

Limbic System: is a system of many regions - their main role being: emotion and memory

Hind Brain/ Brain Stem: This section is at the back bottom and is continuous with the spinal cord. This is for basic body regulation: breathing, heartbeat, sleep, most basic sensory and moto control. eg> eye movement.

Our different Lobe functions:

Frontal: higher cognitive skills, executive functions: thinking, planning, decision making.

Parietal Lobe: Integration of sensory information, visual and spacial awareness

Temporal: Auditory processing, semantics and language.

Occipital: Visual Processing

Question 3

What are the elements of the Limbic System?

Answer 3

Thalamus: is the relay station of sensory input to the cortex (except smell). It’s kind of like the bus station where all info that travels in passes through there and then goes off into its designated area.

Hippocampus: formation of memory and learning. Learning new info takes place here

Amygdala: associated with emotional responding. A lot of research focuses on response to fear because it’s easiest to induce.

Hypothalamus: regulates basic drives - breathing, heart rate etc.

Cerebral Hemispheres:

There are 2, right and left.

• some processes are more likely to be in one hem than the other
• many processes exist bilaterally/ across both hems, communicating via the corpus callosum
• info can be received counter-laterally - eg: coming in on the left eye and going to the right eye.

Question 4

What is our brain made up of that supports neural communication?

Answer 4

The way our brain communicates os through electrical and chemical processes

Within the CNS:
- largely made up of neurons and glial cells. These structures sit on top of a series of chambers/ vesicles that are filled with cerebral spinal fluid and provide support for the brain.

Glial/Glia: supportive in nature, communicate through chemical processes

Neurons: The cells that are involved in communication.

Cell bodies: are grey
Clia cells: are fatty white

Question 5

What are drugs and drug action?

Answer 5

A drug is a chemical that’s not necessary for normal cellular functioning which also significantly alters the function of certain cells of the body. eg: caffeine, meth

Question 6

What is Psycho pharmacology? And what are the principles?

Answer 6

The study and effect of drugs on the psychological processes.

Principles:

Drug effect: Changes the drug produces/causes in an animal’s physiological processes and behaviour

Sites of Action: The location at which molecules of drugs interact with molecules located on or in cells of the body, thus affecting some biochemical processes of these cells

Question 7

What is Pharmacokinetics?

Answer 7

Studies the process by which drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolised, and then excreted (eliminated/removed).

Drug effects in the body:
- Absorption
-Distribution
- Metabolism
-Excretion

Drugs have different rates of all of these effects, which is normally determined by how it has been taken

Question 8

Explain the principles of Psychopharmacology: Entry of drugs into the brain

Answer 8

An important factor that determines the rate at which a drug in the bloodstream reaches sites of action within the brain is how easily it basses the BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER.

• This is the barrier between the brain’s blood vessels and brain tissue
• It provides defence against toxins that may be present in our blood
• Allows small molecules and some gases to pass freely through the capillary wall and into the brain tissue
• How well a drug works is based on how well it can pass the BBB

Question 9

Sites of Drug Action: how the drugs affect our behaviour through synaptic transmission

Answer 9

most drugs affect behavior by interfering with synaptic transmission, which is the chemical process of neural communication. There are two general categories of drugs based on their effects on synaptic transmission:

Agonists: These drugs enhance or increase the effects of neurotransmitters on the postsynaptic neuron. They can mimic the action of a neurotransmitter or increase its release.

Antagonists: These drugs block or reduce the effects of neurotransmitters on the postsynaptic neuron. They can prevent the neurotransmitter from binding to its receptor or inhibit its release.

These impact transmission in 4 main areas:
- The production of the Neurotransmitter (NT)
- The storage and release of the NT
- Effect on the postsynaptic receptors
- Effects on reuptake or destruction of the NT