exam 1 key terms

Question 1

antidepressants

Answer 1

a drug class that contains medications used to treat major depressive disorder, some anxiety disorders, some chronic pain conditions, and help to manage some addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, sexual dysfunction, and emotional blunting

Question 2

anxiolytic

Answer 2

a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxiety disorders and their related psychological and physical symptoms.
Anxiety, mild behavioral agitation, and insomnia.

Question 3

bioavailability

Answer 3

the proportion of a drug or other substance which enters the circulation when introduced into the body and so is able to have an active effect.
Key indicator of drug absorption. It represents the administered dose fraction which archives success in reaching the systemic circulation when administered orally or through any other extravascular dosing route.

Question 4

clearance

Answer 4

is equal to the rate at which a drug is removed from plasma (mg/min) divided by the concentration of that drug in the plasma. The total ability of the body to clear the drug from the plasma is renal clearance plus hepatic clearance plus clearance from all other tissues.

Question 5

clinical response

Answer 5

also used as an indicator of therapeutic efficacy in combination with other indicators. Represents a complex phenotypes that emerges from the interplay of drug-specific, human body, and environmental factors

Question 6

convulsants

Answer 6

a drug which induces convulsions and/or epileptic seizures. These drugs generally act as stimulants at low doses.
Substances that act in the brain stem or spinal cord to produce tonic or clonic convulsions, often by removing normal inhibitory tone. They were formerly used to stimulate respiration or as antidotes to barbiturate overdose

Question 7

distribution

Answer 7

the movement of a drug to and from the blood and various tissues of the body and the relative proportions of drugs in the tissue
Distribution is generally uneven because of differences in blood perfusion, tissue binging (because of lipid content), regional pH, and permeability of cell membranes
The entry rate of a drug into a tissue depends on the rate of blood flow to the tissue, tissue mass, and partition characteristics between blood and tissue.
The extent of drug distribution into tissues depends on the degree of plasma protein and tissue binding. In the bloodstream, drugs are transported partly in solution as free drug and partly reversibly bound to blood components.

Question 8

efficacy

Answer 8

describes the maximum response that can be achieved with a drug. The effect of the drug is plotted against dose in a graph, to give the dose-response curve. The increasing doses are displayed by the X acis and the half maximal and maximal responses are displayed by the Y axis.

Question 9

hallucinogens

Answer 9

large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception, among other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorized as psychedelics, dissociatives, or delirants.

Question 10

narcotic analgesics

Answer 10

substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief.
Have actions at two sites, the presynaptic nerve terminal and the postsynaptic neuron. The postsynaptic actions of opioids are usually inhibitory. The presynaptic action of opioids is to inhibit neurotransmitter release, and this is considered to be their major effect in the nervous system.

Question 11

pharmacology

Question 12

neuropharmacology

Question 13

psychopharmacology

Question 14

pharmocokinetics

Question 15

pharmacodynamcs

Question 16

physical nature of a receptor

Question 17

active transport

Answer 17

the movement of ions or molecules across a cell membrane into a region of higher concentration, assisted by enzymes and requiring energy

Question 18

adverse effects

Answer 18

an unexpected medical problem that happens during treatment with a drug, they may be mild, moderate, or severe. Unintended pharmacologic effects, not the same thing as a side effect.
Ex: rashes, jaundice, anemia, decrease in white blood cell count

Question 19

agonist

Answer 19

a drug or substance that binds to a receptor inside a cell or on its surface and causes the same action as the substance that normally binds to the receptor

Question 20

amplification

Answer 20

a judged tendency of a person to amplify physical symptoms based on psychological factors such as anxiety or depression

Question 21

biotransformation

Answer 21

the process by which substances that enter the body are changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic molecules to facilitate elimination from the body. This process usually generates products with few or no toxicological effects

Question 22

competitive antagonist

Answer 22

binds to the same site as the agonist but does not activate it, thus blocks the agonist action

Question 23

cross tolerance

Answer 23

tolerance or resistance to a drug that develops through continued use of another drug with similar pharmacological action

Question 24

cytochrome p-450

Answer 24

a group of heme containing enzymes embedded primarily in the lipid bilayer of the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes, it takes part in the metabolism of many drugs, steroids, and carcinogens.

Question 25

effective dose

Answer 25

the dose or amount of drug that produces a therapeutic response or desired effect in some fraction of the subjects taking it. Effector - molecules that translate the drug-receptor interaction into a change in cellular activity. A bodily tissue, structure, or organ that becomes active in response to stimulation.

Question 26

efficacies

Answer 26

the maximum response that can be achieved with a drug. The effect of the drug is plotted against dose in a graph, to give the dose-response curve

Question 27

endothelial cells

Answer 27

the main type of cell found in the inside lining of blood vessels, lymph vessels, and the heart. Endothelial cells release substances that control vascular relaxation and contraction as well as enzymes that control blood clotting, immune function and platelet adhesion

Question 28

facilitated diffusion

Answer 28

a form of facilitate transport involving the passive movement of molecules along their concentration gradient, guided by the presence of another molecule usually an integral membrane protein forming a pore or channel, does not directly involve high energy molecules

Question 29

first-pass effect

Answer 29

a phenomenon in which a drug gets metabolized at a specific location in the body that results in a reduced concentration of the active drug upon reaching its site of action or the systemic circulation, can ensure the appropriate drug route of administration and dosing of the patient

Question 30

G proteins

Answer 30

specialized proteins with the ability to bind the nucleotides guanosine triphosphate and guanine diphosphate some G proteins such as the signaling protein RAS, are small proteins with a single subunit, used by cells to convert extracellular signals into intracellular responses, including responses to hormones, neurotransmitters, as well as response to vision, olfaction, and taste signals

Question 31

gated channels

Answer 31

an ion channels in cell membrane that opens or closes in response to a stimulus such as a neurotransmitter or to a change in pressure, voltage or light Potencies - a measure of drug activity expressed in terms of the amount required to produce an effect of given intensity

Question 32

prodrugs

Answer 32

medications that turn into an active from once they enter the body. Prodrugs help improve a medications effectiveness. They may also be designed to avoid certain side effects or toxicities

Question 33

protein binding

Answer 33

- plasma protein binding refers to the degree to which medications attach to proteins within the blood. A drug’s efficacy may be affected by the degree to which it binds. The less bound a drug is, the more efficiently it can transverse or diffuse through cell membranes.

Question 34

receptor

Answer 34

- a region of tissue, or a molecule in a cell membrane, which responds specifically to a particular neurotransmitter, hormone, antigen, or other substance

Question 35

receptor desensitization

Answer 35

refers to the decreased responsiveness that occurs with repeated or chronic exposure to agonist and is a general feature of most signaling membrane receptors. Prolonged stimulation of a response induced by a receptor begins to wane.

Question 36

receptor down regulation

Answer 36

characterized by a decrease in total receptor number in the cell due to endocytosis and subsequent degradation of the receptors caused by long term exposure to agonists. Reduces the cell’s sensitivity to the molecule

Question 37

receptor up regulation

Answer 37

upregulation (increase in the number) of receptors occurs when the activity of the receptor is lower than usual, (due to long term administration of an antagonist)

Question 38

sensitization

Answer 38

the enhancement of a directly elicited drug effect, though adaptive, appears to represent facilitation within a system, making the effect easier to elicit on future occasions

Question 39

seven transmembrane receptor

Answer 39

form the largest superfamily of cell surface receptors. They respond to a wide range of stimulants including light, hormones, neurotransmitters, and odorants

Question 40

steady state

Answer 40

reached when the quantity of drug eliminated in the unit of time equals the quantity of the drug that reaches the systemic circulation in the unit of time

Question 40

steady state

Answer 40

reached when the quantity of drug eliminated in the unit of time equals the quantity of the drug that reaches the systemic circulation in the unit of time

Question 41

supersensitivity

Answer 41

increased sensitivity by a postsynaptic cell because of decreased input by incoming axons

Question 42

tachyphylaxis

Answer 42

occurs when a medication suddenly provides a lessened response or benefit than it once did.

Question 43

therapeutic index

Answer 43

a ratio that compares the blood concentration at which a drug causes a therapeutic effect to the amount that causes death or toxicity A higher therapeutic index is preferable to a lower one: a patient would have to take a much higher dose of such a drug to reach the toxic threshold than the dose taken to elicit the therapeutic effect

Question 44

tolerance

Answer 44

a persons diminished response to a drug, which occurs when the drug is used repeatedly and the body adapts to the continued presence of the drug.

Question 45

transduction

Answer 45

signal transduction is the process in which binding of an extracellular messenger to the cell surface receptor is translated into changes in biochemistry, cell biology, and gene transcription that make it possible for the cell to respond to the information that was received

Question 46

genetic polymorphism

Answer 46

the inheritance of a trait controlled by a single genetic locus with two alleles, in which the least common allele has a low frequency. A difference in dna sequence. Makes drug metabolism vary by individual

Question 47

habituation

Answer 47

the term used to refer to psychological dependence on a drug. A condition resulting from the repeated consumption of a drug because of overpowering

Question 48

hyperreactive

Answer 48

abnormally high sensitivity to stimuli

Question 49

hypersensitivity

Answer 49

include allergic, exaggerated pharmacologic, and pseudoallergic reactions to medications that result from an enhanced immunologic or inflammatory response

Question 50

hyporeactive

Answer 50

having or showing abnormally low sensitivity to stimuli

Question 51

idiosyncratic drug

Answer 51

an adverse reaction that does not occur in most patients treated with a drug and does not involve the therapeutic effect of the drug

Question 52

lethal dose

Question 53

non-competitve antagonist

Question 54

potency

Answer 54

the minimum dose that causes an effect, some criteria established for an effect, a threshold has to be met - more potent means that it takes less of the drug to have an impact

Question 55

efficacy

Answer 55

the plateau that is reached, the maximum response that can be reached by a drug

Question 56

allele

Answer 56

variant forms of a gene

Question 57

allosteric proteins

Answer 57

one that has an effector which regulates its activity by acting on a site physically distant from the proteins ligand-binding site - protein function is a mechanism by which an event in one place of a protein structure causes an effect at another site

Question 58

amino acids

Answer 58

organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups - build muscles, cause chemical reactions, transport nutrients, and prevent illness

Question 59

catalyst

Answer 59

a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change

Question 60

central dogma of molecular biology

Answer 60

a theory stating that genetic information flows in only one direction, from DNA to RNA to protein, or from RNA to protein

Question 61

chromatin

Answer 61

the material of which the chromosomes of organisms other than bacteria are composed. consists of protein, RNA, and DNA

Question 62

codon

Answer 62

a sequence of three nucleotides which together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule

Question 63

energy of activation

Answer 63

the minimum amount of energy that is required to activate atoms or molecules to a condition in which they can undergo chemical transformation or physical transport

Question 64

enzyme

Answer 64

a substance produced by a living organism which acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction

Question 65

gene-environemtn interaction

Answer 65

the interaction between genes and the environment shape human development

Question 66

kinase

Answer 66

an enzyme that catalyses the transfer of a phosphate group from atp to a specified molecule -Catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high energy, phosphate donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule donates a phosphate group to the substrate molecule

Question 67

lysosomes

Answer 67

a membrane bound cell organelle that contains digestive enzymes, they break down excess or worn out cell parts

Question 68

peptides

Answer 68

a short chain of amino acids linked by chemical bonds, a longer chain is a polypeptide

Question 69

phosphorylation

Answer 69

addition of a phosphoryl group to a molecule, this reaction is vital for the cellular storage and transfer of free energy using energy carrier molecules

Question 70

polymers

Answer 70

any of a class of natural or synthetic substances composed of very large molecules, called amcromolecules

Question 71

polymorphisms

Answer 71

presence of two or more variant forms of a specific DNA sequence that can occur among different individuals or populations

Question 72

action potental

Answer 72

a sudden, fast, transitory, and propagating change of the resting membrane potential. Only neurons and muscle cells are capable of generating an action potential; that property is called the excitability Nerve signals generate by neurons and are conducted along processes Caused by a stimulus with a certain value Three phases: depolarization, overshoot, and repolarization

Question 73

amplification

Answer 73

increasing a signal so that minimal receptor occupation by small amounts of neurotransmitters in the synapse produces significant cellular responses

Question 74

anticholinergic

Answer 74

drugs that block and inhibit the activity of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at both central and peripheral nervous system synapses

Question 75

anticholinesterase

Answer 75

drugs that prolong the existence of acetylcholine after it is released from cholinergic nerve endings by inhibiting both acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase

Question 76

autoreceptors

Answer 76

a receptor located on the neuron and the function is to bind to a specific ligand (such as neurotransmitters or hormones) released by that same neuron. The autoreceptor is mainly used as a feedback mechanism to monitor neurotransmitter synthesis and/or release

Question 77

excitatory synapse

Answer 77

a synapse in which an action potential in a presynaptic neuron increases the probability of an action potential occurring in a postsynaptic cell Neurons form networks through which nerve impulse travel, each neuron often making connections with other cells

Question 78

exocytosis

Answer 78

a process by which the contents of a cell vacuole are released to the exterior through fusion of the vacuole membrane with the cell membrane

Question 79

g protein

Answer 79

a family of proteins that act as molecular switches inside cells, and are involved in transmitting signals from a variety of stimuli outside a cell to its interior Convert extracellular signals into intracellular responses, including responses to hormones, neurotransmitters, as well as responses to vision, olfaction, and taste

Question 80

hyperpolarization

Answer 80

when the membrane potential becomes more negative at a particular spot on the neuron’s membrane, while depolarization is when the membrane potential becomes less negative

Question 81

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

Answer 81

a temporary hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane caused by the flow of negatively charged ions into the postsynaptic cell. An IPSP is received when an inhibitory presynaptic cell is connected to the dendrite, fires and action potential

Question 82

inhibitory synapse

Answer 82

a specialized type of junction at which activity from one neuron (in the form of an action potential) reduces the probability of activity in an adjacent neuron by initiating an inhibitory post synaptic potential

Question 83

ionotropic receptors

Answer 83

ligand-gated ion channels made up of 3-5 protein subunits that together form an ion-conducting pore in the center of the receptor. There are four families of ionotropic receptors which differ in their molecular structure and the ligands that open them Utilized by the nervous system with the metabotropic receptors Membrane potential = a potential gradient that forces ions to passively move in one direction: positive ions are attracted by the “negative” side of the membrane and negative ions by the positive one Electrical potential difference

Question 84

metabotropic receptors

Answer 84

also referred to by the broader term G-protein-coupled receptor, is a type of membrane receptor that initiates a number of metabolic steps ot modulate cell activity Utilized by the nervous system with the ionotropic receptors

Question 85

multipolar cell

Answer 85

the most common type of neurons in the human body, they are present throughout a persons central nervous system, including the brain and associated nerves in the ANS. Possess a single axon and many dendrites, allowing for the integration of a great deal of information

Question 86

muscarinic

Answer 86

receptors that are abundantly expressed through the brain, tissues, bladder, pulmonary system, and more. They are involved in the transduction of cholinergic signals in the CNS, autonomic ganglia, smooth muscles, and other parasympathetic end organs Respond more slowly than nicotinic receptors, may be excitatory or inhibitory

Question 87

myelin sheath

Answer 87

an insulating layer around the nerves that allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells.

Question 88

Na+ - K+ atpase

Answer 88

helps to maintain osmotic equilibrium and membrane potential in cells the sodium and potassium move against the concentration gradients.

Question 89

neural integration

Answer 89

a process during which the electrochemical weighing of competing and canceling membrane potentials is resolved, leading to a neuron firing (excitatory) or not firing (inhibitory or subthreshold).

Question 90

nicotinic

Answer 90

receptors that can be found throughout the nervous system as well as in muscles Trigger rapid neural and neuromuscular transmission. Found in the somatic nervous system, and the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems Modifies the sate of neurons through two main mechanism → the movement of cations causes a depolarization of the plasma membrane leading to the activation of voltage gated ion channels

Question 91

oligodendroglia

Answer 91

form and maintain the myelin that surrounds processes of CNS neurons

Question 92

schwann cells

Answer 92

the major glial cell type in the peripheral nervous system. They play essential roles in the development, maintenance, function, and regeneration of peripheral nerves

Question 93

refractory period

Answer 93

the period of time during which a cell is incapable of repeating an action potential

Question 94

spatial summation

Answer 94

when progressively larger number of primary afferent neurons are activated simultaneously, until sufficient neurotransmitter is released to activate an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron