Lecture 10: Sleep, Sedation And Anxiety

Question 1

Which type of drugs are specifically taken to induce sleep, sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic drugs?

Answer 1

Hypnotic drugs. Although sedatives can produce sleep at higher doses.

Question 2

Which stage of sleep involves deep slow-wave sleep?

Answer 2

Stage 4.

Question 3

How does anxiety contrast with fear?

Answer 3

Fear is a response to a KNOWN threat, anxiety is a response to a perceived threat.

Question 4

Which of these sedatives and hypnotics have a “hangover effect”, benzodiazepines, zolpidem & zopiclone, or antihistamines?

Answer 4

Antihistamines.

Question 5

Are benzodiazepines hydrophilic or lipophillic? And what does this assist with?

Answer 5

Lipophilic. Means they can cross the blood brain barrier easily.

Question 6

Where do benzodiazepines bind?

Answer 6

They bind allosterically to GABA receptors. At the boundary between the alpha and gamma subunits.

Question 7

State what BZD agonists, antagonists and inverse agonists do.

Answer 7

BZD agonists - increase GABA response

BZD antagonists - reverse BZD agonists but do not directly affect GABA

BZD inverse agonists - reduce GABA response

Question 8

What are major problems with BZDs?

Answer 8

Tolerance and dependence.