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Biopsychology > Exam 2 > Flashcards

Exam 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Define the difference betwee agonists versus antagonists.

A

Agonist: A molecule that mimics/enhances the effect of a neurotransmitter. The agonist increases the number of transmitters/blocks the reuptake and takes the place of the transmitter.
Antagonist: A molecule that occupies the receptor, but does not activate it. This blocks the transmitters and prohibits its normal activity.

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2
Q

What are psychoactive drugs?

A

Drugs that have psychological effects
- Simple example: alleviation of anxiety symptoms
- Complex example: overactivity within the brain resulting in hallucinations

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3
Q

How do opiates work and what are some medical examples?

A

A drug derived from opium poppy, also relates to the opiate receptors.
Effects include:
- Analgesic: removes pain
- Hypnotic: induces sleep
- Euphoric: creates a sense of happiness
Examples:
- Morphine
- Codeine
- Heroin
- Oxycontin

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4
Q

How do depressants work and what are some examples?

A

A drug reducing the acitivity of the nervous system.
Effects include:
- Sedative: calming
- Anxiolytic: anxiety reducing
- Hypnotic: induces sleep
Examples:
- Alchohol
- Barbituates
- Benzodiazepines

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5
Q

How do stimulants work and what are some examples?

A

A drug that activates and increases the activity of the nervous system, resulting in increased arousal, altertness, and elevated mood
Examples:
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines
- Nicotine
- Caffeine

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6
Q

How do psychedelics work and what are some examples?

A

A compound resulting in perceptual distortions (light, color, and details are intensified)

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7
Q

How can we use different treatments for addiction?

A
  1. Agonists treatments: these replace the addicting drug with another drug with similar effect
  2. Antagonists treatments: these block the effects of the addicting drug
  3. Aversive treatments: cause a negative reaction when the person takes the addicting drug
  4. Antidrug vaccines: molecules attach to the addicting drug and stimulate an immune responde to fight back the effects of the addicting drug
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8
Q

Define comorbidity.

A

A drug addiction in combination with a mental/emotional personality disorder

Can complicate rehab

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9
Q

Define the cholinergic system.

A

The system responsible for attention, learning, and memory
- Distrubutes through: the majoity of the brain, excluding the cerebral cortex
- Moderates through: acetylcholine

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10
Q

Define catecholamine.

A

A larger title referring to neurotransmitters that regulate motor control, cognitive processes such as memory processing, and emotion.
Subtypes:
- Dopamine
- Norepinephrine
- Epinephrine

All of which are synthesized from tyrosine

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11
Q

Define the function of the dopaminergic (DA) systems as well as the affect regions in the brain.

A

The system responsible for motor control, reward systems, motivation, and cognitive processes.
-Distributes through: frontal lobe, mesolimbic areas (amygdala and prefrontal cortex), and hippocampus
Moderates through: dopamine

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12
Q

Define the noradrenergic systems and the affected regions of the brain.

A

The system responsible for arousal and alterness, cognitive processes such as attention/learning/memroy, and stress responses such as hunger, thirst, and fight or flight.
Distributes through: cerebral cortex, thalamus and hypothalmus, the brainstem, and cerebellum
Moderates through: norepinephrine (arousal and SNS activation) and epinephrine (regulation of eating)

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13
Q

What was important about the serotonergic pathways in the brain?

A

Serotonin goes throughout the entire brain, so it difficult to locate when serotonin is the root problem or if the serotonin is specifically helpful

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14
Q

Define the difference between Glutamate and GABA.

A

1. GABA: the major inhibitory neurochemical in the CNS
-Synthesized from glutamate
2. Glutamate:the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS

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15
Q

Define the difference between the SNS and CNS.

A
  1. Central nervous system: the brain and spinal cord, acts as the body’s control center
  2. Sympathetic nervous system: the automatic nervous system (controls fight or flight)
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16
Q

What is the mesolimbic pathway and how does it affect addiction?

A

The mesolimbic pathway is made up of the nucleus acummbens and is responsible for the reward circuit

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17
Q

Define the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system.

A

A vital system for reward, motivation, and goal directed behavior.
Distributed by: nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus
Moderated by: dopamine

ALL ADDICTIVE DRUGS AFFECT THIS SYSTEM

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18
Q

Due to synaptic plasticity, how does repeated use of addicting drugs impact the brain?

A

The brain will create new connections, resulting in functional and structural changes in the brain

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19
Q

Define hypofrontality.

A

The reduced activity in the frontal regions (controlling working memory, behavioral inhbition, and response to environment)

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20
Q

What are the neurological affects of alcohol?

A

Inhibits glutamate and acts at the alcohol site of the GABAA complex
- Results in: sedation, anxiolytic, muscle relaxation, and inhibition of both cognitive and motor skills

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21
Q

What are neurotransmitter and neurochemicals are involved with anxiety medications?

A
  1. Neurotransmitter: GABA
  2. Neurochemcials: Barbiturates and benzodiazapines
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22
Q

What are the effects of heavy marijuana use on the brain and mental functions?

A

Long-term heavy uses have various brain anomalies
- Reduced volume in the hippocampus
- Impaired white matter connectivity in the hippocampus and corpus callosum
- possible negative impact on IQ

23
Q

Explain the GABAA receptor complex.

A

A subtype of GABA, GABA a receptors are incredibly important to the impact of drugs and is a receptor complex (meaning there are multiple different receptor sites)
1. Two of the receptors: respond to GABA, opens chloride channels resulting in an influx of chloride ions, hyperpolarizes neurons
2. Other receptors: responds to alcohol, steroid, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines, each of which result in the enhanced binding of GABA to the receptors (also resulting in the opening of chloride channels)
Why is this important? These receptors are the reason why you should not mix alchol with barbiturates or benzodiazepines

GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter

24
Q

How do we define instincts?

A

A complex, automatic behavior that is unlearned and unmodifiable
- Example: migration in birds and salmon

25
Define homeostasis
A system in equilibrium. This is sought by the body all day everyday
26
Why is it more beneficial/easier to have a carnivorous diet compared to a herbivorous diet?
All of the animal's nutritional needs come from a single source while an omnivore must seek out multiple sources
27
27
What are the different taste receptors and how do they function?
Each correspond to a dietary need, and also contribute **sensory-specific satiety, learned tatste aversion, annd learned taste preference** 1. Sweet - fruits carbohydrates 2. Salty - minerals 3. Sour - distinguishes spoiled food 4. Bitter - distinguishes toxic food (cyanide) 5. Umami - encourages meat consumption
28
Explain the process of digestion.
The breakdown of complex molecules into their components 1. Mouth - begins, saliva contributes to breakdown of carbs into glucose 2. Stomach - hydochloric acid and pepsin mixes with food and digests proteins into amino acids 3. Small intestine/duodenum: where the rest of digestion takes place, fats are transformed into fatty acids
29
How does the digestion system work within the nervous system?
1. Arcuate nucleus (ARC): the master of hypothalamic center (food intake control) 2. Lateral hypothalamus (LH): initiates eating and controls feeding behavior (amount eaten) such as metabolic responses 3. Paraventricular nucleus (PVN): regulates eating and metabolic processes within the body such as temperate, fat storage, and cellular metabolism 4. Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH): produces satiety and increase metabolsim
30
What are the hormones and brain regions related to hunger and eating?
1. Ghrelin: a hormone that is synthesized in the stomach and released in the bloodstream during fasting, increasing hunger and fat storage 2. Cholecystokinin (CCK): a hormone that is released by the stomach and small intestine as food passes into the duodenum, it limits meal size and aids digestion 3. Peptide YY 3-36 (PYY): a hormone released in the intestines in response to food and suppresses appetite over long periods of time 4. Leptin: a hormone secreted by fat cells that inhibit eating
31
Obesity: what are the biological/genetic causes of weight differences?
1. High heritability (50-90% in obesity) due to the Basal metabolism rate (BMR), heritability is 40% for an individual's BMR 2. Obesity and diabetes have been found to be associated with specific chromosomes 3. FTO gene: two copies increase risk of obesity 70% and a single copy ups the risk fo obesity 30% 4. Low leptin levels result in increased food intake 5. Increassed ghlerin levels result in increased receptor sensitivity
32
What are the stages of sexual arousal?
**1. Excitement phase:** preparing for intercourse, increased heart and respiration rate, increased blood pressure and muscle tension **Plateau phase:** sexual arousal is no longer increasing, can be longer but typically several minutes long **Orgasm phase:** brief, intense experience of euphoria and pleasure **Resolution:** body is returning back to homeostasis
33
What are the sexual differences between males and females?
1. Chromosomal makeup: XX, XY, XXY, XYY, X 2. Reproductive anatomy 3. Secondary characteristics: facial hair, boobs, mass differences 4. Hormone profiles 5. Refractory periods: ability to have multiple orgasms within a short period of time
34
What are the brain regions associated with sexual activity and its responses?
1. Medial preoptic area (MPOA): involves male and female sexual behavior 2. Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH): involves sexual interest and motivation, ablation (removal) increases female reluctance and reduces male advances 3. Medial amygdala: contributes to sexual behavior, is active during copulation, causes the DA release of MPOA, responds to porn 4. Paraventricular nucleus (PVN): responsible for male sexual erection 5. Sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN): 3-4x larger in males than females, the size also directly relates with the intensity of sexual urges, only found in animals
35
How does dopamine relate to sexual acitivity and responses?
The reward system encourages sexual activity, directly involved with the brain regions associated with sexual activity (Medial amygdala, MPOA). Drugs that increase dopamine also increase sexual activity. - Systems involved in orgasms 1. Men: ventraltegmental area 2. Women: Nucleus accumbens
36
How is serotonin related to sexual acitivity and response?
Inhibitory for both genders, in all brain areas associated with sexual acitivity serotonin decreases their sexual tendencies. Can also interfere with sexual performance.
37
How is oxytocin related to sexual acitivity and response?
Contributes to bonding and also causes the smooth muslce to contract during orgasms and breastfeeding
38
Explain sexual dimorphism from embryonic tissue to male vs female sex organs
The seemingly undifferentiated gonad develops into testis or ovaries. **Male** **Internal gentialia:** Wolffian ducts develop into epididymis, vas deferens, and seminal vesicles **External gentitalia:** testosterone is converted to DHT and promotes penis/scrotum formation **Female** **Internal genitalia:** Mullerian ducts develop into fallopian tubes, uterus, and upper part of vagina **External genitalia:** absence of androgen results in clitoris, labia minora and labia majora formation
39
What are the three main hormones in control of sexual behavior?
1. Androgen 2. Estrogen 3. Progesterone
40
Androgen: define its effects to sex-related differences in verbal and visiospatial abilities.
More responsible for male characteristics and functions - aids in production of testosterone - boys have better visiospatial abilities - transgender men (taking testosterone) improve in spatial performance and lose their verbal abilities
41
Estrogen: define its effects to sex-related differences in verbal and visiospatial abilities.
More responsible for female charateristics and functions 1. Girls excel in verbal abilities 2. Trans women (taking estrogen) increase their verbal abilities and lose their spatial
42
Progesterone: define its effects to sex-related differences in verbal and visiospatial abilities.
In males: produces testerone In females: vital to sexual reproduction
43
What differences are in the physiology of trans- versus cis-gender identity?
- INAH3 (third interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus) is larger in men than in women and is thought to be the human counterpart to SDN - BSTc (central subdivision of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) is larger in males than females **Both match the transgenders' chosen identity vs their assigned**
44
What is androgen insensitivity syndrome?
A form of 46, XY intersex caused by the genetic absence of androgen receptors (the produces of testosterone). This results in ambigious internal genitalia and can have typical external genitalia
45
What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?
A theory that our percepion and the following bodily arousal causes emotional experience - "We don't tremble because we are afraid, we are afraid because we tremble."
46
What brain regions are related to/responsible for emotion?
The limbic system 1. Amygdala: assesses the emotiona significancce of stimuli, evaluates sensory information for importance to survival 2. Prefrontal cortex: crucial for conscious emotion and deliberate action 3. Anterior cingulate cortex: brain structure aiding in attention, decision making, and impulse control
47
What are forms/causes of aggression?
1. Predatory aggression 2. Affective aggression: impulsive and emotional 3. Proactive/instrumental aggression: unprovoked and emotionless, in an attempt to gain 4. Reactive/impulsive aggression: a response to a real or imagined threat
48
How does aggression relate to the nervous system.
1. Amygdala: detects and responds to threats, prefrontal cortex moderates aggresssion level 2. Hypothalamus: primary area of aggressive behavior 3. Insula: recognizes and experiences emotion, resulting in impulsive/aggressive actions 4. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC): emotional regulation and conflict monitoring
49
What is the role of neurotransmitters and hormones for emotion/aggression
1. Testosterone 2. Serontonin: inhibitory, suppresses motivated behaviors 3. Cortisol: inhibitoryu to aggression
50
What is the physiology of someone with antisocial personality disorder
Can include: brain structure abnormalities, neurotransmitter imbalances, and decreased physiological responses to stressful situations
51
What is the anterior cingulate cortex?
Emotional regulation, conflict monitory, and impulse control
53

Biopsychology (4 decks)

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