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Biological Exam > L3 Pleasure and addiction > Flashcards

L3 Pleasure and addiction Flashcards

1
Q

Name 4 characteristics of DSM-V, substance use disorder

A 
Withdrawal
Tolerance
Craving
Increased use
Desire/need to reduce intake (repeated quit attempts
Lot of time spent pursuing drug.
Social, occupational activities affected.
Neglect major roles
Legal problems
Hazardous use
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2
Q

What NT pathway does cocaine act on?

A

Dopamine

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3
Q

What is a reward defined as in the context of addiction?

A

Subjective pleasure

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4
Q

Why are rewards important?

A

Fundamental for motivation and goal-seeking behaviour.
Basis for instinctive drives: hunger, thirst, sex.
Substrate of more complex states: desire, motivation, ambition, goals.

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5
Q

What is Bozarth and Wise study in 1985 and what did they find?

A

Gave rats unlimited access to cocaine. Increased dose, stopped eating, grooming,
sleeping, etc. 90% fatalities by day 25.

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6
Q

What pathway is also known as the brain’s pleasure centre?

A

dopamine pathway

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7
Q

What are the 2 main dopamine pathways in the brain?

A

Substantia nigra – black substance. Cells are full of dopamine and the region looks darker. In PD this part of the brain dies off.
Ventral tegmental area – this is the one involved in addication. Early work in rats was stimulating this pathway.

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8
Q

In what disease does the Substantia nigra die off?

A

Parkinson’s Disease

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9
Q

Which dopamine pathway is involved in addiction?

A

Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway

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10
Q

Does nicotine increase dopamine release in the Ventral tegmental area?

A

No, it increases dopamine release in the Nucleus Accumbens (NA)

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11
Q

Name the 2 key components of the Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway

A 
Ventral tegmental area 
Nucleus Accumbens (NA)
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12
Q

What do dopamine pathway blockers decrease?

A

Motivation/desire for reward.

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13
Q

What disease are neuroleptics commonly used in ?

A

schizophrenia

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14
Q

What is the anhedonia hypothesis?

A

Brain DA mediates pleasure.
The DA system is where ‘sensory inputs are translated into the hedonic messages we experience as pleasure, euphoria or ‘yumminess’’
Pleasure (& pain) motivates drug use.

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15
Q

Name a major criticism of the anhedonia hypothesis

A

Doesn’t account for cravings/relapse after a period of not using the drug.

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16
Q

In a study on rats measuring DA release during intercourse, at what point are peak DA levels reached?

A

Peak is before copulation.

17
Q

What pathway is now considered important for motivation rather than just pleasure/reward?

A

Dopamine

18
Q

According to more recent data, what is the role of the DA pathway?

A

DA Energises behaviour – like a shot of amphetamine.

Need most energy, not when you have goal, but when you have the possibility of achieving it.

19
Q

What theory has postulated that the DA system is not involved in the pleasure associated with drugs?

A

Incentive salience hypothesis

20
Q

What is the main theory of the Incentive salience hypothesis?

A

You can want something and not necessarily like it. According to this theory DA controls wanting something. Drug addicts can have a lot of craving/wanting but don’t necessarily get a lot of pleasure/liking when they get it.

DA is not involved in the feelings of pleasure (although pleasure can still occur with them). People pay more attention even when they don’t do something anymore (e.g. former smoker wants a cigarette when they see something smoking in a film).

21
Q

How does Incentive salience hypothesis account for relapse and cravings?

A

DA system is the wanting system not the liking system. This system can transform a stimulus into something important and desirable.
Drug abuse causes long-term sensitization of this wanting system, which causes long lasting craving.
Causes a person to be attentive and motivated towards rewarding stimuli.

22
Q

Give an example of evidence to support Berridge & Robinson’s incentive salience hypothesis

A

Incentive salience hypothesis: Anticipatory DA activation (i.e.Release of DA often occurs in anticipation as well as during.)
1. Before a meal (Martel & Fantino, 1996)
2. Before drug use Video of pretend drug use, addicts crave & dopamine system activated (Childress et al., 1996). (Cocaine, Gratton & Wise, 1994).
3. Before sex. Also for sex video
Difficult to explain for anhedonia hypothesis

23
Q

What theory does the finding that when dopamine pathways are destroyed (e.g. using 6-ODHA) or blocked, rats won’t work for sucrose but still like it support?

A

incentive salience theory

24
Q

According to Berridge (2003) where is pleasure located

A

Opiate system may mediate pleasure (liking) and it is part of mesolimbic dopamine pathway (nucleus accumbens shell).

25
Q

Name 3 common factors that can promote drug abuse

A

Genetics
Personality traits: Extraverts, sensation-seeking.
Genetic predisposition for alcoholism.
Inability to metabolise alcohol.
Sensitivity to drugs.
Cocaine, alcohol, amphet insensitivity predicts high risk of abuse (Stahl, 2000)
Context promotes continues use (Robins et al., 1975)

26
Q

What does intensity of withdrawal correlate with?

A

Intensity of withdrawal correlates with intensity & duration of drug effects.

27
Q

True or false: there is more tolerance for toxic effects of drugs than pleasure effects.

A

False. Decreased sensitivity to drug: need larger/more frequent doses for same effects. Toxic effects develop
More tolerance for pleasure effects than negative effects for Amph & Cocaine.
More tolerance for sedative than anxiolytic effects for BZ’s.

28
Q

What is drug tolerance?

A

Decreased sensitivity to drug: need larger/more frequent doses for same effects.

29
Q

What is context-specific tolerance?

A

Pavlovian conditioning of tolerance to drug-related stimuli.
Heroin addict:
Drug-related stimuli (context) initiate tolerance response

30
Q

According to the classical conditioning model of drug tolerance (Siegal 1978), what happens during initial exposure?

A

Sight of syringe/needle, room, other people etc. - primary effects of drug on neurons in the brain - compensatory reactions that oppose the primary effects of drug

31
Q

According to the classical conditioning model of drug tolerance (Siegal 1978), what are the later effects?

A

Sight of stimuli associated with drug taking leads to compensatory reactions (these responses intensify withdrawal symptoms and increase craving for drugs)

32
Q

How does changing the context affect drug tolerance?

A

It reduces it.

33
Q

List 3 implications of the theories and research on addiction/tolerance/DA pathway for overcoming drug addiction.

A

Change social context
Remove any drug-related stimuli
Stop using other drugs
Avoid withdrawal (lots of drug treatments)
Increase natural & alternative rewards & reduce stress.
Repeatedly learn to overcome craving in a controlled environment (e.g. Childress)

Biological Exam (7 decks)

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